Nautilus Productions Shipwreck Images Property of NC? Nautilus Productions

⚓ North Carolina Law Claims Shipwreck Images, Video & Documentary Materials In Its Custody Are NC Property

United States Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Blackbeard Copyright Case

On August 18, 2015 NC Governor Pat McCrory signed HB 184 (N.C. §121-25(b)), into law (SL 2015-218). “Blackbeard’s Law,” originally proposed by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR), makes;

“All photographs, video recordings, or other documentary materials of a derelict vessel or shipwreck or its contents, relics, artifacts, or historic materials in the custody of any agency of North Carolina government or its subdivisions shall be a public record pursuant to G.S. 132-1. There shall be no limitation on the use of or no requirement to alter any such photograph, video recordings, or other documentary material, and any such provision in any agreement, permit, or license shall be void and unenforceable as a matter of public policy.”

The passage of “Blackbeard’s Law” prompted a federal lawsuit against the Governor and the State include employees of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR), the Friends of Queen Anne’s Revenge nonprofit in Beaufort, North Carolina and Susan Kluttz, Karin Cochran, Kevin Cherry, Cary Cox, Stephen Claggett and John “Billy Ray” Morris.

In July of 2016 the North Carolina Legislature, in H1030, amended “Blackbeard’s Law” to read,

The change dropped the “no limitation on the use of or no requirement to alter any such photograph, video recordings, or other documentary material, and any such provision in any agreement, permit, or license shall be void and unenforceable as a matter of public policy” section of the law.

On June 30, 2023, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed a bill repealing Blackbeard’s Law. The repeal came after 8 years of litigation, and is apparently triggered by the State’s realization that it had no legitimate defense to at least one of the federal court claims: that Blackbeard’s Law was a constitutionally prohibited “Bill of Attainder”—a bill that targets and harms an individual, without any due process at all. Since various State legislators had admitted to the motivation, it would have been hard to show otherwise.

The repeal was passed unanimously by the state legislature, and is being hailed as a victory not just for Allen and Nautilus, but for copyright owners nationwide.

References
NC Legislature Links – HB184 (NCLeg page – S.L. 2015-218), H1030 (NCLeg page – S.L. 2016-94) & House Bill 168 / SL 2023-70

Modern Day Piracy on the Queen Anne’s Revenge

On December 1, 2015, Nautilus Productions, which has spent almost two decades documenting the retrieval of Blackbeard’s pirate flagship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge, filed a Federal lawsuit against Gov. Pat McCrory, the State of North Carolina, the Friends of Queen Anne’s Revenge nonprofit, and others, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina over Blackbeard’s Law and copyright infringement. A hearing date is pending in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. A separate lawsuit against the state of North Carolina, filed by Intersal, Inc., which found the Queen Anne’s Revenge, continues in State business court.

UPDATE: On March 14, 2016 the Friends of Queen Anne’s Revenge nonprofit in Beaufort, NC registered it’s destruction filing with the North Carolina Secretary of State and was officially dissolved.

UPDATE: On March 23, 2017 U.S. District Court Judge Terrence W. Boyle rules the lawsuit for copyright infringement and for a declaration of the statute’s invalidity will move forward in Federal court.

UPDATE: April 21, 2017 – The State of North Carolina, Kevin Cherry, Stephen R. Claggett, Karin Cochran, Roy A. Cooper, Cary Cox, Susan Wear Kluttz, John W. Morris & North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources file an interlocutory appeal of Judge Boyle’s decision. Nautilus files a cross appeal. A hearing date is set for March 20, 2018 in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

UPDATE: July 11, 2018 – 4th Circuit issues an unfavorable ruling in case and declines petition for en banc appeal. Nautilus adds Quinn, Emanuel, Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP to its legal team in preparation for petition of a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court of the United States.

UPDATE: January 4, 2019 – Nautilus Productions LLC files a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the Supreme Court of the United States.

UPDATE: On February 8, 2023, filmmaker Frederick Allen of Nautilus Productions, filed an amended complaint in Allen v. Cooper against the state of North Carolina and the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR) over the misuse of Allen’s copyrighted footage of Blackbeard’s shipwreck, the Queen Anne’s Revenge. According to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, North Carolina pirated Allen’s footage of Blackbeard’s flagship, and then passed “Blackbeard’s Law” (N.C. §121-25(b))in 2015 to justify that misuse. The case continues in Federal court.

Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution, known as the Copyright Clause, empowers the United States Congress: To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.

“Intellectual property is the gold of the digital age.” – Omar Sobrino

Copyright Alliance – The Copyright Alliance is the unified voice of the copyright community, representing the interests of thousands of individuals and organizations across the spectrum of copyright disciplines.

DOCUMENTS

Lawsuit – Amended Complaint, Judge’s Order on Motion To Dismiss, Nautilus Cross Appeal, Nautilus Reply Brief, 4th Circuit Opinion, Petition for Rehearing En Banc, Allen v. Cooper_Petition for Certiorari (No. 18-877), Allen v. Cooper Oral Arguments – Transcript, Allen v. Cooper Oral Arguments – Audio File, SCOTUS Opinion, Motion for Reconsideration, SCOTUS Transcript, Plaintiff’s Reply Brief, State Contract Exhibit, Reconsideration Granted, 4th Circuit Ruling on NC Appeal (2022), Amended Complaint (2023), Plaintiffs Opposition to MTD, Allen v. Cooper Order on Motion to Dismiss