It’s a cruel world that makes a thief out of an adoring fan. Erik den Breejen is a keen Beach Boys fan and one who knows, now, what the back of a beloved hand feels like.
copyright
‘Transformative use’ is just mucking things up. That’s what I think. Providing a pivot for the Cariou v Prince case and the only real point of interest no matter what the pundits say, transformative use, instead of the fog-clearing test that it was supposed to be, has become the main particulate in a legal fog of war that has lasted three years now. Thus far, the dueling Cariou v Prince briefs have added new certainty to my theory that transformative use is a singularly unhelpful notion.
Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento of the always interesting Clannco: Art & Law blog has chimed in about our yesterday’s post “When Paintings Are Easily Reproduced.” He tackles the legal question around Alfred Steiner’s “Erased Schulnik (Diptych)” (2010).
So far, the debate about artistic copyright has been safely in the realm of design and photography — with certain exceptions, of course — but how will that conversation change when anything can be easily reproduced and presented without proof of origin or even the original artist’s touch?
The advantage of the New Year is that new and wonderful things are liberated enter the public domain. The Art and Artifice blog has posted a new list of artists whose works as of January 1, 2012 can be used, republished, translated or transformed till your heart’s content!
Last month, we reported on artist Ophelia Chong, who discovered that Starbucks’ recent branding was strangely close to her own art work. The artist has since decided to drop the case and I asked her why.
The New York City Bar Association’s “What We Talk About When We Talk About Appropriation: Contemporary Art After Cariou v. Prince” was, as billed, “a frank discussion of fair use and artistic practice.” And it was, indeed, frank, with all six panelists speaking plainly and tough audience questions encouraged. But it was also, clouded and meandering, the way that all intellectual property discussions are.
Last Friday, artist Ophelia Chong had the kind of day most artist’s dread. On that fateful day she was told by one of her students that Starbucks was using graphics that looked a great deal like hers that … well, judge for yourself.
In a letter to “potential photo buyers” 252+ self-identified professional photographers outline why they can’t “work for free.” This letter appears designed as a link that photographers can send to individuals who request the use of images for no monetary compensation.
We posted about Cali Killa’s copyright issue with Urban Outfitters last January, and how the corporation has blatantly stolen from the street artist to sell tshirts. Now, Melrose and Fairfax is reporting that Cali Killa had copyrighted his image and was able win his case.
