FIRST OFF . . .

A battle over the marketing of rock ‘n’ roll posters between promoter Bill Graham and a San Francisco-based merchandiser is now in federal court. Graham is accusing NEA Entertainment Inc. of bootlegging posters of such groups as Madonna, the Bangles, Run-D.M.C., L.L. Cool J, Dokken, the Beastie Boys, the Grateful Dead and the Smiths. NEA contends it has the right to sell the posters because they are derived from legitimate public photographs of the musicians. The trial began Tuesday, and U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson said he expected it would last about four days. Attorneys for NEA portray the case as an effort by Graham’s Winterland Entertainment to eliminate a competitor. NEA is one of the larger marketers of rock posters with a 1,400-item catalogue. Winterland, which is 50% controlled by Graham, has sales of $75 million a year, according to court documents.