Bromley Art Society Bringing Artists Together since 1947

The talk (6 October) focussed on some of the features of the UK Copyright Act that could apply to works of art and artists.

The author (e.g. the artist) is the first owner of the copyright, unless he or she was employed to create the work. The copyright can exist separately from the work (e.g. a painting), so it can pass from the artist to another person or company. This can be done by an assignment. Copyright is often employed when making and selling commercial items depicting the work.

Certain categories of work are specified in the Act and this has invoked some controversy over certain types of modern art that are not immediately recognisable as graphic works, or sculptures. This has nothing to do with the judgement of the artistic quality, since the Act does not require this, apart from works of artistic craftsmanship (such as a well-crafted piece of furniture). However, artistic works should be
"original".

The author (artist) needs to be identified, since copyright stems from its creator. Identity can be established by including the author's name on a work, but it is also usual to include the copyright symbol © and the date. To enforce Copyright, legal action would need to be taken, but this can be very expensive. Copyright should not be infringed by (acknowledged) non-commercial research, nor by private study,but this will not extend to excuse commercial activities. It can be question of "fair use" or "fair dealing", but this needs to be considered carefully to ensure that the activity concerned does not exceed certain limits. These can vary with the nature of the user and the action involved. For example, some special conditions apply to teachers, librarians and those with impaired vision. Museums and art galleries often ask visitors to sign a form of acknowledgement before allowing photography or sketching. With very old works, the copyright may have expired. The current term is 70 years from the death of the author, but different periods can also apply, for example, to unpublished works, or to special cases, like "Peter Pan", or to Crown Copyright.

The Act covers "Moral Rights" that enable the artist (a) to be identified; or (b) not to have a work falsely attributed; or (c) not to have the work subjected to derogatory treatment. It also now includes the "Artist's Resale Rights" that provide a small percentage of the value of a work when it is resold. This could deal with a situation where an artist may receive only a small initial payment for a work which later increases steeply in value, but there is a minimum threshold before this right becomes active.

Besides copyright, there are also the Registered Design and Design Copyright Acts. These apply to industrial deigns, as such, but can also relate to the industrial application of an artistic work. These design rights could be infringed by copying something in the industrial field in order to create something in the field of art.

The talk was not intended to provide a comprehensive guide to Copyright, but I hope it was informative and it has encouraged you to look carefully at how copyright could affect your own activities. Bookshops having legal sections or specialising in law are worth visiting and the UK Patent Office has an interesting web site. As Copyright is a special branch of law, you may require advice to deal with any particular problem.

Brian Ingram © 7.10.06