Archive of Henry Lydiate‘s Artlaw column, published in Art Monthly since 1976. Have a legal question about your career? Check our Directory or send us a legal query.
Performance Art
In 1964 Joseph Beuys gave an improvised 30 minute performance broadcast live on Germany’s second public television channel ZDF (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen), which he called Marcel Duchamp’s Silence Is Overrated. The performance was not taped but Beuys allowed…
Famous last words
Andy Warhol died in 1987. In the few years since his death his Estate has been beset by no fewer than three serious and complex legal wrangles. In Britain the death of Henry Moore in 1986 has…
Leibovitz Futures
‘One of the world’s most successful photographers essentially pawned every snap of the shutter she had made or will make until the loans are paid off’: thus reported the New York Times on February 24 2009, breaking the…
Orphan Works 1
‘Orphan works’ are copyright works that have no identifiable or traceable owner under international and national copyright laws, and are therefore allowed to be freely copied and merchandised. These sensible arrangements were developed through international copyright treaties…
Copyright Services
Picasso’s keen interest in taking care of the commercial dimension of his professional practice manifested itself relatively early in his career and extended also to the careers of his contemporaries; he contributed significantly to the establishment of one…
Art for Architecture Legistlation
Two new publications signal serious efforts to advance the art and architecture movement in the U.K.: Art For Architecture (published by H.M.S.Q.) and The Register of Artists and Craftsmen in Architecture (published by Art and Architecture…
What kinds of contract might I be expected to sign when taking on a property?
When signing any document it is essential that you understand its contents. The written agreement which you enter into for “renting” your studio will either…
Agents’ and Dealers’ Duties
Leonardo Da Vinci's drawing Madonna and Child with St Anne and a Lamb (c.1501 19) was the subject of a lawsuit decided by London's High Court in November 2010, which shed “a bright light on an…
Anticipating Future Uses of Work
A traditional assumption of many commissioners, owners and users of artworks is that artists should consider themselves lucky, even privileged, to have been paid for doing what they enjoy and therefore have few if any…
Art and the law on trial
Does the public need protecting against art and artists? Recent serious and real events in Parliament and the Courts have raised this apparently whimsical and abstract question to public notice. The law makers and…
Deceased Artists
Through a public consultation paper issued in June 2008, the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) has been seeking the views of art market professionals, artists, representatives of artists’ collecting societies, and from deceased artists’ estates, in order to…
3D Artworks
The 1977 movie Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope was the subject of a recent lengthy trial at the High Court in London, at the heart of which lay the fiendishly difficult question of what – in…
What legal issues should I be aware of if I wish to use film clips in my work?
Even images, film, audio or photographs on the Internet are protected by copyright, and cannot be used without the author’s permission. Whilst…
Community Interest Company
A community interest company (CIC) is a limited company (either by shares or guarantee) that provide benefits to a community, or a specific section of a community. It has the flexibility of a company form and access…
Editions or Series: Artists Be Clear
Misunderstandings and disputes often arise when two people interpret the same situation in different ways. Assumptions are usually the root cause; full, frank, and clear dialogue between the parties, especially in contractual negotiations, is…
Paper Promises, part 1
Exhibiting and selling work, one off and generally, has not been a high priority in these columns over recent years, especially since we explored these areas pretty comprehensively in the first five. But last month’s deliberately…
Loaner Beware
This is a very unusual step for any artist to take in the UK. How have these circumstances arisen, what is the likely outcome, and what lessons can be learned by artists, collectors and galleries? The case of…
Commissions
I have been commissioned to produce a piece of public art. Can the body commissioning the artwork subsequently terminate the agreement? What should I do if a commission is rejected after it has been completed? What should I be…