Justices Question State Immunity in Sunken Pirate Ship Case

U.S. Supreme Court justices seem skeptical about whether a state can claim sovereign immunity in a copyright dispute involving video footage of Blackbeard’s sunken pirate ship off the coast of North Carolina.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg noted during a Nov. 5 oral argument that states could hold and enforce rights themselves.

“There’s something unseemly in saying we can hold copyright and hold people to account, but we can infringe to our heart’s content,” she said.

The court’s eventual decision could clarify when Congress’ power under Article I of the Constitution to protect copyrights, or the 14th Amendment right to pass ...