At what point does artistic appropriation become copyright infringement? A Jeff Koons sculpture has reopened the 50-year-old debate.
Tag: copyright
With Nearly 1 Billion Licensed Works, Creative Commons Takes Stock
In its first-ever “State of the Commons” report, Creative Commons — the nonprofit that aims to facilitate the free sharing and licensing of creative work — revealed that there are at least 882 million Creative Commons–licensed works currently available online, and that sometime next year that figure is expected to pass one billion.
Empty Vitrines at British Institutions Call for Copyright Reform
Museums and libraries in the United Kingdom are demanding copyright reform by leaving exhibits and display cases conspicuously empty in protest. The institutions are making a stand against a law that prevents them from showing millions of unpublished documents, particularly those dating from World War I.
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.
UK Copyright Law Gets Exception for Parody
A series of updates to UK copyright law are scheduled to go into effect tomorrow, finally allowing for the use of copyrighted material in the creation of parody, the BBC reported.
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.
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.
Why You Can’t Show Your Tattoos without Permission in Video Games
What are the intellectual property rights of tattoo artists? Video games that depict athletes are testing the limits.
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.
Street Artists Sue Terry Gilliam for Copyright Infringement
Three street artists have filed a lawsuit against Terry Gilliam, alleging that the director “misappropriated” their copyrighted collaborative work in his upcoming film The Zero Theorem.
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.
Did Karl Lagerfeld Steal a Sneaker Design?
As mass-market fashion continues its longstanding tradition of ripping off independent designers, a twist in the narrative emerges: is a high-end designer now ripping off a mass-market company?