Blackbeard Ship Copyright Suit Probed by Skeptical Appeals Panel

The state of North Carolina found a receptive Fourth Circuit panel Wednesday in its bid to once-again sink claims it violated a videographer’s rights by putting his underwater footage of Blackbeard’s pirate ship in the public domain.

All three appellate judges questioned during oral arguments why Frederick Allen could raise a new theory after the US Supreme Court’s 2020 finding that he failed to undercut the state’s sovereign immunity. Last year, Allen advanced his revised claim that a targeted state law eviscerated his copyrights in violation of due process, but the state argued he shouldn’t have even been allowed ...