Does an artist have the right to withhold their work when they don’t agree with the political message?
Author Archives: Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento
Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento is an artist, writer and arts lawyer interested in the relationship between art and law. He currently teaches contemporary art & law at Fordham Law School. You may follow his quips on art & law on twitter at @Clancco_artlaw or at clancco.com.
Posted inOpinion
What Happens When National Geographic Steals Your Art?
National Geographic used artist Barrett Lyon’s internet image on the cover of its bookazine, 100 Scientific Discoveries that Changed the World, and in the book, The Big Idea, without Lyon’s permission.
Posted inOpinion
Appropriators Beware: The Author Is Not Quite Dead
I’ve been called a lot of things (including, “lawyer”), but one thing I can be proud of is never having been called a liar.
Posted inOpinion
The Battle of Booklyn
Having two entities using the same word to identify similar services is likely a problem. Case in point, Booklyn.
Posted inArt
Making Sense of the Legal Battle Over Vivian Maier’s Artworks
A legal battle has ensued over who has legal rights to an artist’s photographic negatives.
Posted inNews
US Copyright Office Says Animal Authors Aren’t Protected by Copyright
Earlier this month I wrote here that it would be very difficult to argue that a monkey could create a copyrightable work. Seems I was right.
Posted inOpinion
Going Ape Over a Photograph’s Copyright
Apparently Wikimedia, the US-based organization behind Wikipedia, is refusing to remove an image of a monkey taken by … wait for it, wait for it … the monkey itself.
Posted inOpinion
Just Because You Can Doesn’t Mean You Should: On Marina Abramović and Unpaid Work
When I read about Marina Abramović’s volunteer advertisement on the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) website last week, it got me thinking about how many arts nonprofits employ the law to their benefit, and many times against an ethical grain.
Posted inArt
Judicial Activism and the Return of Modernism in the Cariou v. Prince Decision
The Cariou v. Prince decision was handed down last Thursday. I have struggled with what to write primarily because I have been shocked into a catatonic state. How two intelligent minds could draft such an epic disaster is beyond any form of comprehension.