Showing items tagged "Copyright, IP and artist rights"
Copyright Law
The law of copyright is vast and complicated: what follows is a brief outline of the law as it affects visual artists who should seek professional legal advice on any problems they may have. What is copyright? Copyright…
Private Investigations
It’s a mystery to me – the game commences for the usual fee – plus expenses confidential information – it’s in a diary this is my investigation – it’s not a public inquiry* Back from the motorway the…
What do I need to know if I want to use a board game / company name or logo in my artwork?
First, the name of the board game, or associated logos, is likely to be registered as a trademark…
ArtlawTV: David Mabb on Art and Appropriation
Art and Appropriation – when does artistic freedom become copyright infringement Artist David Mabb considers works in his practice, including a run in with Magnum Photos and appropriating the work of William Morris.…
A Developing Global Framework
Copyright laws were created in direct response to the development of industrial technologies that enabled unique paintings and drawings to be copied and mechanically reproduced in multiple numbers. The development of engraving and multiple printing techniques…
What material (film, music, photography, literature etc) do I not need permission to use?
Copyright lasts for the whole life of the creator of the work plus 70 years, passing on their death to their estate or heirs, so a…
In Defence of the Image
Does copyright law stifle creativity, or does it protect and encourage creativity by enforcing the legal and moral rights of original authors? ‘A good composer does not imitate, he steals.’ Igor Stravinsky T S Eliot…
Mortality/Immortality
The Getty Conservation Institute recently organised a unique conference in Los Angeles, California, under the title ‘Mortality/Immortality: The Legacy of 20th Century Art’ to debate whether and, if so, how many contemporary works should be conserved. It was addressed…
New UK Legislation Part 2
Amended ‘permitted acts’: criticism, review, and news reporting Fair dealing with copyright works for the purposes of criticism or review have long been ‘permitted acts’, provided a sufficient acknowledgement of the copyright owner accompanied any…
Stealing Ideas
Random House UK, publisher of The Da Vinci Code, is being sued, at the time of writing, in London’s High Court by two of three authors of a book (also published by Random House UK) from 1982, The Holy Blood and…
Virtual Collections: National Portrait Gallery versus Wikipedia
The digital revolution’s radical transformation of information and communications technology has enabled public and private collections throughout the world to offer instant internet access to images of countless numbers of their artworks: virtual…
What if I want to use an image of a celebrity in my work?
In the UK there are no specific celebrity protection laws, but it is illegal to place the image of any living person within a derogatory context…
New Legal Rights
Parliament gives artists two new legal rights: to earn extra cash from their work; and to exert exclusive aesthetic control over it. ‘These rights are given to all artists for their lifetime and pass to their heirs…
ArtlawTV: Ben White and Eileen Simpson on A Cultural Commons
A Cultural Commons – alternative approaches to copyright and the distribution of material Ben White and Eileen Simpson created the Open Music Archive to distribute music that no longer has…
How do I get permission to use copyrighted material (film, photography, literature, music etc)?
Normal practice for artists wishing to use copyright protected material in their own new works is to write to the copyright owner, explain what the new work…
Moral Rights: Artists have got ’em
A vandalised painting exhibited by a gallery, a sculpture dyed black by a visitor, an artwork altered and published bearing a false signature – recent months have seen a number of these artists’ horror…
Ignorantia Lex Non Fit Defensia
Copyright in the visual arts is the inherent right of a creator over his/her artistic work to prevent other people copying that work. I received a novel and remarkable press release last month, issued by…
Copyright and Moral Rights: New Legislation (moral rights)
This article explains what are Moral Rights. On August 1, 1989 the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 comes into force. In March, we began a three part exploration of key changes…