NEW YORK, NY (July 21, 2023) –The Paul Rudolph Estate and The Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture (”PRIMA”) today announced a settlement with the Paul Rudolph Foundation.
In 2020, the Paul Rudolph Foundation brought an action against PRIMA (formerly known as the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation) and Mr. Ernst Wagner, Paul Rudolph’s Executor and residuary beneficiary, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The parties have agreed to settle all claims in the matter with the terms of the settlement being confidential.
Part of the Lawsuit involved the ownership and copyright status of works authored by Paul Rudolph or his architectural office.
In his will, Paul Rudolph gave his Architectural Archives (collectively “Paul Rudolph Works”) to the Library of Congress Trust Fund following his death in 1997. A Stipulation of Settlement signed on June 6, 2001 between the Paul Rudolph Estate and the Library of Congress Trust Fund resulted in the transfer to the Library of Congress of those items among the Paul Rudolph Works that the Library of Congress determined suitable for its collections. These items became the Paul Rudolph Collection at the Library of Congress.
The Court ruled that Paul Rudolph Works in the Paul Rudolph Collection at the Library of Congress are in the public domain. The Paul Rudolph Foundation, Inc. v. Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation et. al, 2022 WL 4109723, at *8 (S.D.N.Y. Sep. 8, 2022).
The Court also acknowledged that since the Library of Congress did not select the entirety of the Paul Rudolph Works, materials not in the Library’s Collection may not be in the public domain and Mr. Wagner may hold intellectual property rights to this material as the residuary beneficiary of Mr. Rudolph’s estate. Id. at *7, n.4.
“The Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture is dedicated to communicating, preserving and extending the legacy of world renowned architect Paul Marvin Rudolph,” said Kelvin Dickinson, President of PRIMA. “We welcome the court’s decision that the Paul Rudolph Works at the Library of Congress are dedicated to the public so that his work is preserved and can be celebrated by future generations.”
Ernst Wagner, Executor of the Paul Rudolph Estate stated, “It is the common objective of the Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture and the Estate of Paul Rudolph to carry out Rudolph’s wish to preserve and publicize his professional architectural career. This settlement will allow everyone to move forward to increase the appreciation, understanding, accessibility, study and preservation of Rudolph’s architectural career.”
About the Paul Rudolph Estate
Ernst Wagner, a personal friend of Paul Rudolph and owner of Modulightor, a lighting company founded by Mr. Rudolph, is both the Executor of Paul Rudolph’s will and the beneficiary of his estate.
About the Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture
The Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture is a New York City-based non-profit 501(c)3 organization founded by Ernst Wagner to fulfill Paul Rudolph’s wish that an organization be created to preserve his architectural legacy. Through preservation and advocacy efforts, educational initiatives, public events and maintaining and developing an archive of written and graphic materials, the Institute seeks to communicate the legacy of this unique American architect in a larger architectural and cultural context to interested students, journalists, scholars, and the general public.
For more information about the Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture, visit www.paulrudolph.institute and find them on Threads (@PaulRudolphInst), Twitter (@PaulRudolphInst), Facebook (@PaulRudolphInst) and Instagram (@PaulRudolphInst).
Download the press release here.