Topics

The applied arts are the application of design and decoration to everyday objects to make them aesthetically pleasing. The term is applied in distinction to the fine arts which aims to produce objects which are beautiful and/or provide intellectual stimulation. In practice, the two often overlap.

The fields of industrial design, graphic design, fashion design, interior design and the decorative arts are considered applied arts. In a creative and/or abstract context, the fields of architecture and photography are also considered applied arts.

Cheffins v. Stewart: Burning Man; Burning Ships

Appropriation Art

Appropriation in art is the use of pre-existing objects or images with little or no transformation applied to them. The use of appropriation has played a significant role in the history of the arts (literary, visual, musical and performing arts).

Fair Use: Graham v. Prince and Warhol v. GoldsmithSCOTUS Update: U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear Warhol v. Goldsmith Copyright Case Next Term Fair Use Filter? Richard Prince Moves to Dismiss Donald Graham's Lawsuit

Art Dealers

Aicon Art LLC v. Aicon Contemporary LLC: A Reminder About the Importance of Knowing Who the Client Is U.S. Treasury Study Rejects Immediate Need for New Regulation of Art Market Swiss Miss: The Second Circuit Rejects Application of Expropriation Exception to Seizure of Antiquities by Swiss Law Enforcement Officers

Attribution

Update: Enforcing an Artist’s Rights in Street Art Unchartered Territory: Enforcing an Artist's Rights in Street Art

Auction Houses

Courts on Both Coasts Find that the COVID-19 Pandemic Falls Within “Force Majeure” Clauses U.S. Treasury Study Rejects Immediate Need for New Regulation of Art Market National Defense Authorization Act Imposes Anti-Money Laundering Regulations on Antiquities Market and Calls For Study on Role of Art Market in Money Laundering

Authentication

Proposed Amendments to Protect New York Art Authenticators Pending While Lawsuits Regarding Authentication Disputes Persist Judge Feinerman Finally Credits Doig’s Voice

Awards

Hughes Hubbard’s Art Practice Recognized by Chambers for Fourth Straight Year Hughes Hubbard’s Art Practice Again Recognized by Chambers

Business Interruption

Art Institutions Will Not Find Financial Relief Under Business Interruption Insurance Policies In U.S. Courts—Where Will They Find It?

Copyright

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.

Apples and Oranges: District Court Grants Maurizio Cattelan’s Summary Judgment Motion in Copyright Claim Against His Art Basel Banana Fair Use: Graham v. Prince and Warhol v. GoldsmithCopyright Goes Bananas: District Court Rejects Maurizio Cattelan’s Motion to Dismiss Copyright Claim Against His Taped Banana

Droit de Suite

Update: U.S. Supreme Court Denies Certiorari in California Resale Royalty Case Update: Ninth Circuit Holds That CRRA Is Preempted by “First Sale Doctrine”Ninth Circuit Cases Pose the Question: How Far Does the "First Sale Doctrine" Go?

Droit Moral

Droit Moral is a French term for Moral Rights. It refers to the personal rights a creator has in their work. It protects artistic integrity and prevents others from altering the work of artists, or taking the artist's name off work, without the artist's permission.

Update: Attorneys Representing Artists in 5Pointz Litigation to Receive Over $2 Million in Attorneys’ Fees Update: Certiorari Denied in 5Pointz Appeal 5Pointz Litigation SCOTUS-Bound?

Fair Use

(in US copyright law) The doctrine that brief excerpts of copyright material may, under certain circumstances, be quoted verbatim for purposes such as criticism, news reporting, teaching, and research, without the need for permission from or payment to the copyright holder.

Fair Use: Graham v. Prince and Warhol v. GoldsmithSCOTUS Update: U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear Warhol v. Goldsmith Copyright Case Next Term Prince, Prince, Prints: Will the Supreme Court Revisit Fair Use?

Force Majeure

Courts on Both Coasts Find that the COVID-19 Pandemic Falls Within “Force Majeure” Clauses

Forgeries

Who We Are: A Look Inside Our Art Law Practice Group Proposed Amendments to Protect New York Art Authenticators Pending While Lawsuits Regarding Authentication Disputes Persist

FSIA

Swiss Miss: The Second Circuit Rejects Application of Expropriation Exception to Seizure of Antiquities by Swiss Law Enforcement Officers The U.S. Supreme Court Unanimously Holds in Favor of Germany and Against Heirs of German Jewish Art Dealers in Case Involving Nazi-Era Sale of Guelph Treasure An Uncertain Fate for the Guelph Treasure

Insurance

UPDATE: Southern District of New York Dismisses Art Gallery’s Insurance Claims for COVID-19 Business Interruption Losses Pardon the Interruption: Potential Paths Forward for Art Institutions Seeking COVID-Related “Business Interruption” Insurance Coverage

Museums

The Return of Looted Art: Warnings from 2022 You Really Got Me: Second Circuit Rules in Favor of Met Museum in Fair Use Case Involving Photograph of Van Halen The U.S. Supreme Court Unanimously Holds in Favor of Germany and Against Heirs of German Jewish Art Dealers in Case Involving Nazi-Era Sale of Guelph Treasure

NFTs

U.S. Treasury Study Rejects Immediate Need for New Regulation of Art Market NFT Update: 5 Recent Lawsuits Show a Glimpse into Future Legal Battles Involving NFTs Taking the “Fun” Out of Non-Fungible Tokens: Could Securities Laws Apply to NFTs?

Restitution

The returning to the proper owner property or the monetary value of loss. Sometimes restitution is made part of a judgment in negligence and/or contracts cases.

UPDATE—New York Court Awards Statutory Prejudgment Interest to Grünbaum Estate’s Heirs UPDATE – Dispute over Ownership of Nazi Victim’s Art Turns to Pre-judgment Interest An Uncertain Fate for the Guelph Treasure

Statute of Limitations

A statute prescribing a period of limitation for the bringing of certain kinds of legal action.

UPDATE – Dispute over Ownership of Nazi Victim’s Art Turns to Pre-judgment Interest Surprise Decision in Reif v. Nagy Raises As Many Questions As It Answers A Proposed Uniform Statute of Limitations for Nazi-Plundered Art and Cultural Property

Stolen Art

UPDATE—New York Court Awards Statutory Prejudgment Interest to Grünbaum Estate’s Heirs UPDATE – Dispute over Ownership of Nazi Victim’s Art Turns to Pre-judgment Interest Second Circuit Holds that FSIA Bars Suit Against Sovereign Asserting Cultural Patrimony Claim

Street Art

American Graffiti: Artist Moves to Protect Street Art Across New York City Update: Attorneys Representing Artists in 5Pointz Litigation to Receive Over $2 Million in Attorneys’ Fees Update: Certiorari Denied in 5Pointz Appeal

Tax-Exempt

Can a Tax-Exempt Arts Organization Take a Political Position?

Unauthorized Art

SCOTUS Update: U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear Warhol v. Goldsmith Copyright Case Next Term Unchartered Territory: Enforcing an Artist's Rights in Street Art

Uncategorized

Taking the “Fun” Out of Non-Fungible Tokens: Could Securities Laws Apply to NFTs?

VARA

The Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA), 17 U.S.C. § 106A, is a United States law granting certain rights to artists.

VARA was the first federal copyright legislation to grant protection to moral rights. Under VARA, works of art that meet certain requirements afford their authors additional rights in the works, regardless of any subsequent physical ownership of the work itself, or regardless of who holds the copyright to the work. For instance, a painter may insist on proper attribution of his painting, and in some instances may sue the owner of the physical painting for destroying the painting even if the owner of the painting lawfully owned it.

Although federal law had not acknowledged moral rights before this act, some state legislatures and judicial decisions created limited moral-rights protection. The Berne Convention required the protection of these rights by signatory states, and it was in response that the U.S. Congress passed the VARA.

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