Blackbeard Ship Video Copyright Row Over Goes to High Court (1)

The Supreme Court will hear a videographer’s appeal of a ruling involving Blackbeard’s pirate ship, one he said could allow states to infringe copyright with impunity.

Videographer Rick Allen sued North Carolina for posting his company’s underwater footage of the Queen Anne’s Revenge in violation of his contract with the state. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, joining other circuits, said Supreme Court precedent invalidates a 1990 federal law that said states can be sued for copyright infringement.

The case gives the high court a chance to weigh the 11th Amendment, which protects states’ sovereignty, against ...