Journal of Intellectual Property Rights

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The Interplay between Contemporary Art and Copyright Law


Affiliations
1 DPIIT IPR Chair Professor, Gujarat National Law University, Gujarat - 382 421, India
2 Boston University School of Law, Boston, MA 02215, United States
 

The Law of Copyright is capable of facilitating creativity as well as hindering it. Art has progressed over the years and the past few decades witnessed the expression of art in several forms. The market for contemporary art is thriving and this raises a very important question: Should the ambit of copyright law be extended or modified to protect newer forms of art work? As the art movement across the world is undergoing some dynamic changes, it becomes necessary to study the art protection laws across jurisdictions to hatch a regulatory framework, especially for contemporary artworks like appropriation art which are two fields of expression that are trickier than others. This article aims to provide a comprehensive deep-dive into the sufficiency of law and the changes that need to be made to both secure economic and moral rights of the creator and incentivize new art, but also to not thwart away the existing regime to accommodate trivial ideas, drifted from expression.

Keywords

Appropriation Art, Copyright, Fair Use Rule, Derivative Work, Fixation Requirement
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  • Campbell v Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., 510 U.S. 569, 589 (1994). However, appropriation art is not necessarily parody, so it is not always protected. Michael A E, Miss Scarlett's license done gone! parody, satire, and markets, Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal, 20 (2002) 601.

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  • The Interplay between Contemporary Art and Copyright Law

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Authors

Annamma Samuel
DPIIT IPR Chair Professor, Gujarat National Law University, Gujarat - 382 421, India
Rachel Florence James
Boston University School of Law, Boston, MA 02215, United States

Abstract


The Law of Copyright is capable of facilitating creativity as well as hindering it. Art has progressed over the years and the past few decades witnessed the expression of art in several forms. The market for contemporary art is thriving and this raises a very important question: Should the ambit of copyright law be extended or modified to protect newer forms of art work? As the art movement across the world is undergoing some dynamic changes, it becomes necessary to study the art protection laws across jurisdictions to hatch a regulatory framework, especially for contemporary artworks like appropriation art which are two fields of expression that are trickier than others. This article aims to provide a comprehensive deep-dive into the sufficiency of law and the changes that need to be made to both secure economic and moral rights of the creator and incentivize new art, but also to not thwart away the existing regime to accommodate trivial ideas, drifted from expression.

Keywords


Appropriation Art, Copyright, Fair Use Rule, Derivative Work, Fixation Requirement

References