Intellectual Property and the Arts
Visual Art/Visual Artists
Frequently Asked Questions
ARTISTS AND COPYRIGHT
Q: I am a visual artist working in the United States. I create paintings and works of art on videotape. How do I copyright my work?
Read the answer at http://www.collegeart.org/ip/qa4.
APPROPRIATION
Q: I am an artist who uses images of other works of art in my own creations. What legal risks might I face when using (“appropriating”) artworks made by others in my own?
Read the answer at http://www.collegeart.org/ip/qa7.
ARTISTS AND MORAL RIGHTS
Q: I understand that copyright is a special right for makers of creative work, including works of art. I’ve also heard the term “moral rights.” What does this term mean? How do moral rights differ from copyrights?
Read the answer at http://www.collegeart.org/ip/qa5.
WORK FOR HIRE
Q: I’m a freelance artist. I was hired by an organization to create original artworks—a wall mural and a poster—for its facilities. The organization says it can make copies of these artworks for sale without my permission because I created the art as “work for hire.” I thought this was only true if I was an employee of the organization—but I’m not. What is work for hire? Is the organization right? Did I lose my copyright? Can I get it back?
Read the answer at http://www.collegeart.org/ip/qa8.
Studies, Resources, and Some Answers
“The Catalog of Copyright Entries: Registrations from 1923 to 1949” and “The Catalog of Copyright Entries: 1950–1977 (with Renewals of Copyright from 1922–1950)”
“From Monty Python to Leona Hemsley: A Guide to the Visual Artists Rights Act,” by Cynthia Esworthy (NEA Office of General Counsel, Washington and Lee University Law School,1997)
“Copyright, Borrowed Images and Appropriation Art: An Economic Approach,” by William M. Landes (Chicago: John M. Olin Law and Economics Working Paper No. 113 [2d series], December 2000)
“Beyond Copyright: Do Artists Have Rights?” A panel discussion of the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA), presented at the 90th Annual Conference of the College Art Association, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 21, 2002
See also “Moral Rights for Artists: The Visual Artist Rights Act” by Jeffrey Cunard (CAA News 27, no. 3, [May–June, 2002]).
“Illegal Art: Freedom of Expression in the Corporate Age” (2002)
“Tales from the Public Domain: Bound by Law?” by Keith Aoki, James Boyle, and Jennifer Jenkins (Center for the Study of the Public Domain, 2006)
“‘Yes, you can!’: Where you don’t even need ‘fair use,’” by Peter Jaszi (Washington College of Law, American University, May 2006)
Permissions, A Survival Guide: Blunt Talk about Art as Intellectual Property, by Susan M. Bielstein (Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2006)
“Against Moral Rights,” by Amy M. Adler (California Law Review 97 [2009]: 263–301)
“DMCA, Fair Use, Documentary Filmmakers and Remixers,” by Patricia Aufderheide (Center for Social Media Blog, May 8, 2009)
Chilling Effects: “Do you know your online rights? Have you received a letter asking you to remove information from a Web site or to stop engaging in an activity? Are you concerned about liability for information that someone else posted to your online forum? If so, this site is for you.” (Chilling Effects is a joint project of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and clinics at Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley, University of San Francisco, University of Maine, George Washington School of Law, and Santa Clara University School of Law.)
