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I’m I will be giving a 2-part talk on Art and Copyright.

One of the most difficult challenges for courts today is drawing the line between legal appropriation and copyright infringement. This is especially important in today’s digital environment, where the possibilities for artists to appropriate have increased dramatically in recent years.

Part I of my talk will focus on Copyright Basics.

Part II on Copyright Infringement and examples of leading court cases.

The purpose of these presentations is to give you some background on basic copyright principles in the U.S.

First, what is copyright?

Copyright is a form of intellectual property, that is, a creation of the mind, that protects materialized forms of artistic expression for a specified period of time. Copyright applies to works in tangible objects and works in digital form.

How long does copyright last?

The copyright term for works created on or after January 1, 1978 is subject to the 1976 Copyright Act.

For works by a known individual author, the copyright runs form the date of creation, and lasts the life of the author plus 70 years.  17 U.S.C. § 302(a).  The copyright for joint works – that is, works created by two or more authors – lasts the life of the longest living co-author.

If the work is a “work for hire,” copyright lasts the shorter of 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation.  I will not be discussing works for hire in this presentation.

For works created before January 1, 1978, I suggest you consult a chart at www.copyright.cornell.edu.

At

the end of the copyright term, the work is ejected into the public domain and is available for anyone to use without the author’s permission.

What is the public domain?

When a work is no longer protected by copyright.  The copyright has expired.And anyone can use it without any legal repercussion.

Whereas copyright in the U.S. is based on economic incentive, by contrast, copyright law in civil law countries, including Continental Europe, emphasizes authors’ rights and generally affords greater protection to authors, with a strong emphasis on moral rights. Moral rights protect the non-economic and personal aspects of an author’s creation. The artwork embodies the artist’s personality, since the artist, in the process of creation, injects some of his spirit into the art.

Copyright a Constitutional Right

The basis of copyright law in the U.S. is embedded in Article I, section 8, clause 8 of the U.S. Constitution:

The Congress shall have Power … To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.

Copyright has an Economic Purpose

The purpose behind copyright in the U.S. is economic. The goal is to motivate people to create works that will enrich the public domain. Copyright does this by giving the creator a sort of monopoly over their works of genius for a limited period of time. This economic quid pro quo gives an author an incentive to create and is at the very core of Anglo-American copyright philosophy. Copyright is perhaps an artist’s most valuable economic right and it persists in a work even after the work is sold. What the artist retains is a bundle of exclusive rights, which I will be discussing in a moment.

Formalities

Until fairly recently, there were a number of formalities that had to be satisfied in order to obtain copyright protection. For example, placement of the word “copyright” or symbol © on a published work; registration with the Copyright Office; and deposit of copies with the Library of Congress. Unpublished works were protected under state law, but not federal law.

Under the 1976 Act, which went into effect January 1, 1978, a work was automatically protected as long as it met the substantive requirements (copyrightable subject matter, originality and fixation). Also, the 1976 Act replaced the dual state/federal system, and now unpublished works were protected as well.

With U.S. accession to the Berne Convention in 1988, notice of copyright became permissive (rather than required) for works created on or after March 1, 1989. However, registration with the Copyright Office is a prerequisite for filing a lawsuit.

Requirements

As I mentioned, under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, a work that satisfies the substantive requirements of copyright (copyrightable subject matter, originality, and fixation) automatically receives copyright protection.

Works Protected

In the U.S., copyright protects the following categories of works, as enumerated in Section 102 of the 1976 Act, and further defined in Section 101.  These are:

• Literary work
• Musical works, including lyrics
• Dramatic works, including any accompanying music
• Pantomimes and choreographic works
• PICTORIAL, GRAPHIC, AND SCULPTURAL WORKS (the topic of our discussion)
• Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
• Sound recordings
• Architectural works
• Software

If the work does not fall within any of these categories, it will not be afforded copyright protection.

Pictorial graphic and sculptural works are defined as: two-dimensional and three-dimensional works of fine, graphic, and applied art, photographs, prints and art reproductions, maps, globes, charts, diagrams, models and technical drawings, including architectural plans.

Useful Articles not Protected

They do not include designs of “useful articles” unless the designs are physically or conceptually separable from the utilitarian aspects of the object.

An example of a useful article that was deemed copyrightable is a lamp base. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Mazer v. Stein that a decorative mass-produced lamp base could stand alone as a copyrightable work of art and was therefore eligible for copyright protection, notwithstanding that it served a utilitarian purpose as a lamp base.

Artistic elements that are conceptually separable from the utilitarian aspects of the work may also be copyrightable in some cases. Kieselstein-Cord v. Accessories by Pearl, Inc. involved a high-end jeweler’s design of two belt buckles that featured ornate sculptured designs cast in precious metals. The Second Circuit found that the conceptually separable elements were protected under copyright.

Ideas are not Protected

Copyright law protects the expression of an idea, but not the idea itself, no matter how original. No one can copyright the idea of a haystack or even a series of paintings of haystacks at different times of day. What is protected is the artist’s particular rendering of the scene – in other words, the expression. If someone copied the particular details of color, brush strokes, light, shadow, overall perspective, they may have crossed the infringement line.

How close is too close? The challenge of distinguishing between idea and expression is perhaps no more evident than in the case of visual arts. Frequently, the line between idea and expression is subtle and open to interpretation. For example, in Steinberg v. Columbia Pictures, a NY District Court considered Steinberg’s 1975 iconic map of the world representing an “egocentrically myopic perspective” of New Yorkers an idea.

However, certain details of the defendant’s movie poster, including generally “New Yorkish structures” were substantially similar to those in Steinberg’s drawings. Pushing the boundaries even further, the court found that even “style is one ingredient of ‘expression,’” and that the “sketchy, whimsical style” of Steinberg’s map with New York at the center was protectable.There are situations, however, where idea and expression are so intertwined that there is only one, or very few, ways of expressing an idea.  In such cases, the idea and expression are said to merge. To allow copyright protection would essentially grant a monopoly on the idea.

Merger Doctrine

Courts have therefore developed the merger doctrine, which provides that when the idea and expression merge, the expression is not protected by copyright. Courts often apply the merger doctrine when a work is representational of an animal or natural phenomenon.  If a work is lifelike, a copyright protection may prevent others from representing a creation of nature. In Dyer v. Napier, a mother mountain lion carrying a cub in her mouth is an idea first expressed in nature.  Therefore, a photographer’s work to achieve this “ideal pose” was not copyrightable since the pose was one that naturally occurred and was instinctive in nature.

Originality

The second requirement of copyright, after appropriate subject matter,  is originality. In the U.S., originality does not mean novelty.  It simply means that a work was created independently by the author, not copied from someone else. Therefore, if two artists independently produced identical or substantially similar images, both would satisfy the originality requirement.

In one early twentieth century case, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the copyright in the reproduction of posters of a traveling circus. The Court held that the plaintiffs’ posters were copyrightable, stating, “Others are free to copy the original [subject matter depicted].  They are not free to copy the copy . . . The copy is the personal reaction of an individual upon nature.”

Fixation

In the U.S., there is a third requirement for copyright protection – fixation.  A work must be fixed in a tangible means of expression for a period of more than a transitory duration. How long is that? The copyright statute does not say. Certain artworks, especially conceptual works, may fall outside the purview of copyright protection. What is protected is the physical or digital manifestation of the work.

Bundle of Exclusive Rights

The copyright owner (in the case of artworks, this is generally the artist), is entitled to a bundle of exclusive rights listed here.

• Right to reproduce
• Right to prepare derivative works
• Right to distribute copies (subject to the First Sale Doctrine)
• Right to perform
• Right to display (subject to the First Sale Doctrine)

Copyright infringement occurs when one violates any of these rights.

Right to Reproduce

The right to reproduce is perhaps the most basic of the exclusive rights. It is the exclusive right to reproduce the copyrighted work by any means, even within the temporary memory of a computer. This right protects against copying in any medium, including uploading of files to the Internet, and downloading attachments and files and graphics from websites. The reproduction right may apply when works of art are broadcast, even for a few seconds, subject only to a fair use defense.

Right to make Derivative Works

The exclusive right to make derivative works, that is, adaptations, of the copyrighted work is the second of the exclusive rights This right overlaps with the right to reproduce, but is broader because reproduction requires fixation in copies, whereas the preparation of a derivative work, such as a dance or performance, may be an infringement even though nothing is ever fixed in a tangible form. Examples include a photograph of a painting protected by copyright, a translation, or screenplay based on a novel.

Right to Distribute

The right to distribute is the exclusive right to distribute copies of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease or lending. Under this provision, the copyright owner has the right to control the first public release and distribution of an authorized copy – either in physical or digital format.

First Sale Doctrine

However, an important limitation exists under the First Sale Doctrine. The First Sale Doctrine provides that the owner of a particular lawfully made copy or any person authorized by the owner, may, without the authority of the copyright owner, sell, display, or otherwise dispose of the possession of that copy. Once the copyright owner of a particular item has parted with ownership of it, the copyright owner’s right to distribute ceases. Therefore, the purchaser of a painting has the right to resell, donate or otherwise distribute the painting (subject to any contract terms, of course) without the copyright owner’s authorization.

Right to Perform

The right to perform typically applies to musical, dramatic, choreographic, motion pictures, and audiovisual works. It does not usually apply to pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, although, in theory, it may apply to performance art. The right to display provision is the first explicit statutory recognition in U.S. copyright law of an exclusive right to show a copyrighted work, or an image of it, to the public. “To display” is “to show a copy . . . either directly or by means of a film, slide, television image, or any other device or process.” The right to display is also subject to the First Sale Doctrine limitation. Therefore, a lawful owner of a copy of a work may display it to viewers present in the place where the work is located (for example, a museum or gallery), but not online, without the consent of the copyright owner.

This concludes Art and Copyright, Part I.

Next I will discuss Copyright Infringement and Fair Use, focusing on appropriation art cases.