The exclusive legal right, given to an originator or an assignee to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same.

As street art – typically painting or drawing on someone else’s wall – grows in status in art circles,1 street artists are finding that their work is increasingly being exploited without their permission. While a number of these artists have attempted to assert copyright2 or Visual Artists Rights
Continue Reading Unchartered Territory: Enforcing an Artist’s Rights in Street Art

An erroneous copying of a judicial opinion led the Seventh Circuit to reverse a decision about an erroneous copying of a portrait.

Jesus Muhammad‐Ali, the grandson of deceased Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad, painted a portrait of the current leader, Louis Farrakhan, at his request.  Ali registered a copyright
Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Has the Last Word About The Final Call

Carol Highsmith, a renowned American photographer, has filed a lawsuit against Getty Images (“Getty”) and others for violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”).1  Specifically, Highsmith alleges that the three defendants – Getty and Alamy (companies that sell stock photos) and License Compliance Services (“LCS”) (a company that
Continue Reading Photographer Highsmith Takes On Getty Images for a Potential Billion-Dollar Payout

Read time: 5 minutes

In a recent decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals adopted a utility-based standard for determining when a work of art is deemed “applied art” and therefore not entitled to protection under the Visual Artists Rights Act (“VARA”).1 VARA was enacted in 1990 as an amendment to the Copyright Act, and incorporated the concept of droit moral
Continue Reading Cheffins v. Stewart: Burning Man; Burning Ships

Read time: 7 minutes

Appropriation artist Richard Prince’s Motion to Dismiss is now fully briefed in Graham v. Prince et al., teeing up for Judge Stein of the Southern District of New York key questions regarding the scope of the fair use defense in the context of contemporary art…
Continue Reading Fair Use Filter? Richard Prince Moves to Dismiss Donald Graham’s Lawsuit