A summary of Southern California-related business litigation developments during the past week.

Firm Sues Late Artist’s Wife Over Copyrights: Jennifer Dumas, the wife of the late artist Patrick Nagel, famous for his portraits of a striking woman with high cheekbones and long dark hair, was sued by Mirage Editions Inc., a Santa Monica firm that claims to hold the copyrights on a number of Nagel works. In the federal lawsuit, Mirage asserts that after Nagel died in 1984, Dumas gave the firm exclusive rights to produce and distribute a number of Nagel works under an agreement whereby she would receive a $200,000 advance on foreign sales of Nagel reproductions. The suit said Dumas breached the long-term contract by entering into a separate agreement with a Japanese company, Gallery APJ, to publish and distribute in Japan a number of Nagel images for which Mirage holds the copyright. The suit said the Japanese firm has sold various reproductions, including a calender of Nagel works on which Mirage still holds the copyright. The suit seeks $100,000 per infringed copyright and at least $1 million in punitive damages. (Case No. 90-4803. Filed Sept. 6.)