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Copyright

First online Max Beckmann catalogue raisonné to go live tomorrow as artist's work enters public domain

News
Catalogue raisonné

First online Max Beckmann catalogue raisonné to go live tomorrow as artist's work enters public domain

Hamburg’s Kunsthalle to publish photographs of 843 paintings for free research tool

Catherine Hickley

Campaign to 'free' the Aboriginal flag gains momentum as Australian government seeks exclusive licensing rights

News
Australia

Campaign to 'free' the Aboriginal flag gains momentum as Australian government seeks exclusive licensing rights

Made by the Luritja artist Harold Thomas in 1971, the rights to the flag design are currently held by Ben Wooster, a former art dealer previously fined $2.3m for selling fake Aboriginal works of art

Gabriella Angeleti

Redbone music video sparks artist dispute over copyright infringement

News
Copyright

Redbone music video sparks artist dispute over copyright infringement

Frank Buffalo Hyde says the imagery in the short film for the band's 1974 hit Come and Get Your Love released by Legacy Recordings this month is "too close to comfort" to his work

Gabriella Angeleti

Colour balance: painter Pat Lipsky sues over digitally ‘distorted’ images of her work

News
Law

Colour balance: painter Pat Lipsky sues over digitally ‘distorted’ images of her work

The artist says photographs of her canvas Bright Music II, offered for sale online, have been altered beyond recognition as her work

Daniel Grant

Court dismisses Cady Noland’s lawsuit against collector and dealers who conserved Log Cabin sculpture

News
Law

Court dismisses Cady Noland’s lawsuit against collector and dealers who conserved Log Cabin sculpture

The conceptual artist, who disavowed the work, claimed that replacing materials without her consent violated the US Visual Artists Rights Act

Daniel Grant

British Museum mistakenly cites ‘all rights reserved’ as biggest postcard producer in Turkey

News
British Museum

British Museum mistakenly cites ‘all rights reserved’ as biggest postcard producer in Turkey

The error comes as the London institution launches a revamped version of its online catalogue

José da Silva

Robert Indiana’s LOVE at centre of new $150m fraud claim

News
Robert Indiana

Robert Indiana’s LOVE at centre of new $150m fraud claim

American Image Art founder alleges certain works are in the public domain and cannot be copyrighted

Anny Shaw

US copyright law comes under scrutiny as new legislation makes its way before Congress

News
Copyright

US copyright law comes under scrutiny as new legislation makes its way before Congress

A planned new mediation system, which aims to streamline copyright breach claims in the US, has loopholes that could deny artists justice, critics say

Daniel Grant

Supreme Court rules film-maker cannot sue North Carolina for copyright infringement

News
Law

Supreme Court rules film-maker cannot sue North Carolina for copyright infringement

Opinion finds Congress overstepped its authority with 1990 federal statute, but allowed for a new law to "stop states from behaving as copyright pirates"

Daniel Grant

San Francisco artist sues Disney for copying her ‘tremendously cool’ painted van in Pixar film

News
Law

San Francisco artist sues Disney for copying her ‘tremendously cool’ painted van in Pixar film

Sweet Cecily Daniher rented her unicorn decorated vehicle to the studio for a party, only to find out its doppelganger will appear in the animated movie Onward

Wallace Ludel and Helen Stoilas

UK light artist sues Miami botanical garden over 'unauthorised replicas' of his work

News
Art law

UK light artist sues Miami botanical garden over 'unauthorised replicas' of his work

Bruce Munro claims the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens intentionally imitated his works for its festive event known as The NightGarden

Wallace Ludel

The full story behind Banksy's pop-up shop in Croydon

News
Banksy

The full story behind Banksy's pop-up shop in Croydon

Street artist has created merchandise range from disco balls made from riot police helmets to hand-stitched welcome mats

Anny Shaw

Street artist sues Ellen DeGeneres and Walmart for copyright infringement

News
Law

Street artist sues Ellen DeGeneres and Walmart for copyright infringement

Julian Rivera says his heart-shaped “love” design was copied on a popular line of clothing without his permission

Helen Stoilas

Taipei gallery accuses Mac Cosmetics China of plagiarising artist's work for lipstick campaign

News
Copyright

Taipei gallery accuses Mac Cosmetics China of plagiarising artist's work for lipstick campaign

Project Fulfill Art Space says Chinese branch of the cosmetics company did not have permission to use Chen Sung-Chih installation

Lisa Movius

The National Portrait Gallery's ethical dilemma

Blog
Diary of an art historian

The National Portrait Gallery's ethical dilemma

Plus, taking a stand on copyright

Bendor Grosvenor

Warhol's Prince series ruled fair use by a New York judge in contested copyright case

News
Art market

Warhol's Prince series ruled fair use by a New York judge in contested copyright case

The ruling settles a heated two-year legal battle between the artist's foundation and photographer Lynn Goldsmith, who shot the original image in 1981

Margaret Carrigan

Bad guy? Billie Eilish video by Dave Meyers mirrors the work of artists Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari

News
Copyright

Bad guy? Billie Eilish video by Dave Meyers mirrors the work of artists Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari

The director seems to once again have borrowed from the work of visual artists, which has previously led to lawsuits against Kendrick Lamar and Ariana Grande

Aimee Dawson

US singer Chris Brown accused of ripping off several artists’ work in Wobble Up music video

News
Copyright

US singer Chris Brown accused of ripping off several artists’ work in Wobble Up music video

Marius Sperlich and Tony Futura are among those calling for greater copyright protection in the creative industry

Anny Shaw

EU copyright crackdown is intended to protect artists, but might it damage their market instead?

News
Art market

EU copyright crackdown is intended to protect artists, but might it damage their market instead?

New laws to stop copyrighted material from being uploaded to social media without permission could pose problems for those using sites like Instagram to sell art

Anny Shaw

Ai Weiwei denies his porcelain works borrow from Lebanese artist's prize-winning vases

News
Copyright

Ai Weiwei denies his porcelain works borrow from Lebanese artist's prize-winning vases

Raed Yassin says there are "striking similarities" between his ceramic series on the Lebanese civil war and Ai's pieces on the Syria war and refugee crisis

Aimee Dawson

Las Vegas-based artist claims that Ariana Grande plagiarised his work

News
Copyright

Las Vegas-based artist claims that Ariana Grande plagiarised his work

Vladimir Kush is suing the 7 Rings singer for copyright infringement

Gabriella Angeleti

Artist Lina Iris Viktor and rapper Kendrick Lamar resolve Black Panther legal dispute

News
Copyright

Artist Lina Iris Viktor and rapper Kendrick Lamar resolve Black Panther legal dispute

Copyright infringement case centred on Constellations series

Gareth Harris

Jardin Majorelle in Marrakech can keep its name, Paris court rules

News
Law

Jardin Majorelle in Marrakech can keep its name, Paris court rules

Decision allows Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent to continue using trademark of French painter Jacques Majorelle

Sarah Belmont

Fair use or foul? An appropriation case involving Warhol raises an artistic debate in New York court

News
Law

Fair use or foul? An appropriation case involving Warhol raises an artistic debate in New York court

A legal battle over the Pop artist’s portraits of Prince is heating up

Laura Gilbert

Richard Prince defends reuse of others’ photographs

News
Law

Richard Prince defends reuse of others’ photographs

In court motions, he argues that his appropriation explores the virtual world of social media

Laura Gilbert

Copyright case brought by Naf Naf creative director against Jeff Koons finally comes to court

News
Art market

Copyright case brought by Naf Naf creative director against Jeff Koons finally comes to court

Franck Davidovici first accused the artist of plagiarising his 1985 advertising campaign almost four years ago

Anny Shaw

Dalí foundation sues California museum for use of artist’s name and image

News
Law

Dalí foundation sues California museum for use of artist’s name and image

Monterey’s Dalí17, which displays the 500-work private collection of the Ukrainian-born real estate developer Dimitry Piterman, features the Surrealist’s face—complete with upturned moustache—on its logo

Helen Stoilas

Elon Musk under attack over use of potter's farting unicorn image

News
Copyright

Elon Musk under attack over use of potter's farting unicorn image

The Tesla chief has defended himself, saying he helped popularise the mug design for free

Alec Evans

French dealer awarded rights to Chinese artist T'ang Haywen's work

News
Copyright

French dealer awarded rights to Chinese artist T'ang Haywen's work

Paris court decision ends legal saga that began in 1991, when the artist died without an heir

Vincent Noce

Once bitten, twice shy: Canadian artist caught using comedians' photos without permission promises no more funny business

News
Controversies

Once bitten, twice shy: Canadian artist caught using comedians' photos without permission promises no more funny business

Despite controversy over public art project in Calgary, Derek Michael Besant has been commissioned to create a similar work in Ottawa

Larry Humber

Palais de Tokyo removes work showing artist protesting against Dana Schutz's Open Casket painting

News
Controversies

Palais de Tokyo removes work showing artist protesting against Dana Schutz's Open Casket painting

Parker Bright says protest image of him taken at Whitney Biennial was used by Neil Beloufa without permission

Gareth Harris

How abolishing museum image fees could boost audiences

Blog
Diary of an art historian

How abolishing museum image fees could boost audiences

New research shows that image licensing is barely profitable for some UK museums

Bendor Grosvenor

UK museums' right to charge image fees is called into question

News
Law

UK museums' right to charge image fees is called into question

Campaign for institutions to free up photographs of out-of-copyright works is backed by legal experts

Ivan Macquisten

Christo and Smithsonian sued for copyright infringement over Running Fence images

News
Law

Christo and Smithsonian sued for copyright infringement over Running Fence images

Photographer Gianfranco Gorgoni says copies of his pictures of the California land art project were shown and reproduced without his knowledge

Dan Duray

The reproduction fee hustle

Blog
Diary of an art historian

The reproduction fee hustle

Museums’ licensing demands are a pernicious tax on scholarship

Bendor Grosvenor

Trinity Church sued by sculptor over 9/11 work removed from courtyard

News

Trinity Church sued by sculptor over 9/11 work removed from courtyard

Steve Tobin filed a complaint under the Visual Artists Rights Act saying the church violated his moral rights

By Daniel Grant

Centre Pompidou broke even on Koons retrospective, Paris court decision reveals

News

Centre Pompidou broke even on Koons retrospective, Paris court decision reveals

Due to a €1.25m loan fee to the Whitney, the museum did not see many profits from one of their biggest shows ever

By Victoria Stapley-Brown, Alexis Fournol

Richard Prince is sued yet again for unauthorised appropriation of photographs

News
Copyright

Richard Prince is sued yet again for unauthorised appropriation of photographs

Eric McNatt files lawsuit over artist’s reproduction of a portrait of rock musician Kim Gordon

Laura Gilbert

Instagram model and makeup artist sues Richard Prince over copyright infringement

News
Law

Instagram model and makeup artist sues Richard Prince over copyright infringement

Part of the New Portraits series, the work at the centre of the case was shown—and sold—at Frieze New York last year

Julia Halperin

Azerbaijani artist Faig Ahmed accuses retailer Topman of plagiarism

News
Copyright

Azerbaijani artist Faig Ahmed accuses retailer Topman of plagiarism

For the moment, the artist and his team are not pushing for compensation

Victoria Stapley-Brown

Orlan loses plagiarism case against Lady Gaga

News
Law

Orlan loses plagiarism case against Lady Gaga

In the first Paris court ruling, French “carnal artist” has been ordered to pay Lady Gaga and her record label €20,000

Victoria Stapley-Brown, Alexis Fournol

Legal battle between graffiti artist and fashion label back on

News
Law

Legal battle between graffiti artist and fashion label back on

Settlement collapses as discussions between Joseph Tierney, Moschino and creative director Jeremy Scott break down

Laura Gilbert

Graffiti artist to settle legal case against Moschino

News
Law

Graffiti artist to settle legal case against Moschino

Joseph Tierney had accused Italian fashion house and its creative director of using his work in clothing designs, including a dress worn by Katy Perry to Met gala

Anny Shaw

Wikimedia Sweden found guilty of violating copyright with database of images of public art

News
Law

Wikimedia Sweden found guilty of violating copyright with database of images of public art

Decision by Supreme Court could have implications for other jurisdictions, legal experts say

Anny Shaw

Richard Prince and Gagosian move to dismiss photographer's copyright lawsuit

News
Law

Richard Prince and Gagosian move to dismiss photographer's copyright lawsuit

Citing an earlier case they won, the artist and his dealer argue Rastafarian Instagram screenprints are transformative

Laura Gilbert

LA photographer takes on Richard Prince in new lawsuit

News
Law

LA photographer takes on Richard Prince in new lawsuit

Donald Graham might have a stronger case than previous attempts against the appropriation artist

Laura Gilbert

Double vision: the grey area of ar tistic appropriation

News
Art market

Double vision: the grey area of ar tistic appropriation

US copyright law is no longer fit for purpose as courts are forced to make artistic judgements in “fair use” cases

Rachel Corbett

Made in China? Not originally

News
Law

Made in China? Not originally

Two recent plagiarism cases throw light on the country's lax stance on copying

Ermanno Rivetti

Brooklyn street artist sues over Katy Perry’s graffitied Met gala gown

News
Law

Brooklyn street artist sues over Katy Perry’s graffitied Met gala gown

Joseph Tierney says the Italian designer Moschino has used his work without permission in a line of clothing famously worn by the pop singer

Laura Gilbert

Danish artist chronicles fight with Louis Vuitton

News

Danish artist chronicles fight with Louis Vuitton

Clemens Bomsdorf

Artists can snoop on their neighbours, court rules

News

Artists can snoop on their neighbours, court rules

Julia Halperin

The verdict that flies in the face of art history: Luc Tuymans guilty of copyright infringement

Archive
Copyright

The verdict that flies in the face of art history: Luc Tuymans guilty of copyright infringement

A Belgian court recently found Tuymans guilty, a ruling that ignores appropriation’s vital role in art over the centuries and has worrying implications for the future

Ben Luke

Collection agency head warns over resale rights

Archive
Art market

Collection agency head warns over resale rights

The Artists’ Collecting Society says that the “honeymoon” grace period on accurate reporting of sales is coming to an end

Melanie Gerlis

Ruling in Germany’s supreme court on the rights to images of performance art favours museum

Archive
Joseph Beuys

Ruling in Germany’s supreme court on the rights to images of performance art favours museum

Beuys show can go on

Gareth Harris

Beuys widow wins in court over contested performance piece pictures

Archive
Joseph Beuys

Beuys widow wins in court over contested performance piece pictures

Museum Schloss Moyland lose out again in appeals court

Gareth Harris

US Supreme Court to consider copyright extension for foreign artists

Archive
December 2011

US Supreme Court to consider copyright extension for foreign artists

Artists argue that law could adversely affect works involving appropriation

Martha Lufkin

Beuys returns to Schloss Moyland after refurbishment

Archive
Joseph Beuys

Beuys returns to Schloss Moyland after refurbishment

Some works will not be on display, lest the museum incur a €250,000 copyright fine

Gareth Harris

Spanish royal seal of approval for Dalí’s Florida home

Archive
Salvador Dalí

Spanish royal seal of approval for Dalí’s Florida home

Meanwhile in Europe, the artist’s foundation battles “pseudo museums” to protect his brand

Georgina Adam

Artist’s copyright versus curator’s freedom of expression: The wider legal significance of the Beuys case

Archive
Joseph Beuys

Artist’s copyright versus curator’s freedom of expression: The wider legal significance of the Beuys case

The estate of Joseph Beuys has brought the Museum Schloss Moyland to court over photographs of Beuys' performance art

Daniel McClean

Museum Schloss Moyland banned from displaying images of Beuys performance

Archive
Joseph Beuys

Museum Schloss Moyland banned from displaying images of Beuys performance

German court rules museum breached artist’s copyright by displaying photographs of 1964 happening

The Art Newspaper

The work of art in the age of cut and paste

Archive
Frieze

The work of art in the age of cut and paste

Can the law keep up with the speed of digital appropriation, reproduction and distribution? And should it even try?

Anny Shaw

Stopping the passage of time: Colour photography conservation

Archive
Photographs

Stopping the passage of time: Colour photography conservation

A new technique aims to prevent colour prints from fading—but is it legal?

Samson Spanier

Copyright dispute over Joseph Beuys show in Germany

Archive
Joseph Beuys

Copyright dispute over Joseph Beuys show in Germany

The Moyland Castle Museum closed the exhibition but plans to appeal

The Art Newspaper

Prince and Gagosian fight back over copyright

Archive
Gagosian Gallery

Prince and Gagosian fight back over copyright

Response to lawsuit by French photographer claims images not “strikingly original”

Andrew Goldstein

National Gallery and British Museum follow V&A’s lead

Archive
Copyright

National Gallery and British Museum follow V&A’s lead

Leading organisations to abolish reproduction charges for scholarly publications

Martin Bailey

Henry Moore Foundation vetoes plan to build replica of The Arch

Archive
Henry Moore

Henry Moore Foundation vetoes plan to build replica of The Arch

An Italian-American collector had offered $1 million for the project

Martin Bailey

The art of allusion: Interview with Damian Loeb

Archive
Artist interview

The art of allusion: Interview with Damian Loeb

Damian Loeb’s work relies on the viewer’s recognition of the visual sources that he quotes liberally

Adrian Dannatt

The battle over copyright: Even in death, Dalí spreads chaos

Archive
Salvador Dalí

The battle over copyright: Even in death, Dalí spreads chaos

Millions of dollars from reproduction rights, hundreds of thousands of fakes and the authority to authenticate works are at stake. The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation, set up to care for his work, claims that Demart, which administers his intellectual property rights, is failing to do its job

Martin Bailey

WIPO treatises take the Berne copyright convention into the digital age

Archive
Intellectual property

WIPO treatises take the Berne copyright convention into the digital age

Is new copyright law needed for a new age?

The Art Newspaper

"Publication right" introduced into UK law

Archive
Law

"Publication right" introduced into UK law

Museums and collectors should hasten to protect their rights in this field

The Art Newspaper

Young artist subject of censorship by Cadbury's

Archive
Censorship

Young artist subject of censorship by Cadbury's

Sweet censorship in Sheffield

The Art Newspaper

Interview with Mark Stephens on censorship: a lawyer’s view

Archive
Interviews

Interview with Mark Stephens on censorship: a lawyer’s view

The co-founder of Stephens Innocent law firm discusses the limits of art

Marcus Evans

Copyright and censorship in Chapmanworld: how far can they go?

Archive
Copyright

Copyright and censorship in Chapmanworld: how far can they go?

Despite the dilemmas posed by their work, Jake and Dinos Chapman's first major exhibition in a public gallery is opening in London

Roger Bevan

Descharnes wins back Dali rights from Spanish State

Archive
Salvador Dalí

Descharnes wins back Dali rights from Spanish State

Dali's former secretary has been successful in his appeal

The Art Newspaper

Tighter copyright legislation for EU nations?

Archive
European Union

Tighter copyright legislation for EU nations?

Even the most hidebound museum or public institution has now woken up to new technologies

The Art Newspaper

Divorce in casa Dalí as Gala-Dalí Foundation and Spain seize control

Archive
Salvador Dalí

Divorce in casa Dalí as Gala-Dalí Foundation and Spain seize control

State and Foundation cancel their contract with Descharnes, the artist’s former secretary and administrator of copyright

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