FIRST OFF . . .

The Supreme Court order this week for lower court hearings to determine whether artist James Earl Reid must share the copyright to an artwork with the homeless-rights agency that commissioned it is likely to end in a settlement instead of trial, Reid’s attorney Joshua Kaufman said Tuesday. “My client doesn’t have the wherewithal for another trial and the Community for Creative Non-Violence doesn’t have an interest in the legal issues, so I’m hoping to settle the case,” the Washington attorney said. In a decision hailed as a victory for artists and authors, the court unanimously ruled that CCNV, which commissioned Reid to create a sculpture of a homeless family, is not the exclusive owner of the copyright to the sculpture. But it referred to lower courts a decision on whether Reid is the exclusive owner or he must share the copyright with the commissioning agency. Kaufman said he expected the two parties to reach a settlement giving Reid the copyright but granting CCNV limited rights to reproduce the work for fund-raising activities.