"Understanding Artists' Rights"

A Free Panel Discussion on Artists' Legal Issues at NYFA on April 1, 2013, from 6:30pm to 8:00pm.

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On Monday, April 1st, 2013, the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), in partnership with the Art Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association, will present a panel entitled “Understanding Artists' Rights.” This panel will run from 6:30—8:00p.m., will take place at NYFA's office, and is free to the public.

NYFA's office is located at 20 Jay Street, 7th Floor, Brooklyn, 11201. For questions and RSVP’s, please contact Peter Cobb at pcobb@nyfa.org.

Panelists include:

Joshua Lipsman, JD, MD

Judd Grossman (founding and managing partner of Grossman LLP)

Christopher Robinson (Davis Wright Tremaine LLP)

Carol J. Steinberg (Law Firm of Carol J. Steinberg; Faculty, School of Visual Arts)

A synopsis of the discussion is below:

Many artists have heard of the lawsuit in which photographer Patrick Cariou sued appropriation artist Richard Prince and the Gagosian Gallery for copyright infringement. The basis of the lawsuit was that Prince appropriated Cariou’s portraits of Rastafarians and used them as the basis of his paintings. Although the judge ruled against Prince and Gagosian and was harshly critical of Prince’s use of Cariou’s photographs, the case is on appeal, which means that the final decision could be different.

The Cariou case illustrates basic artists' rights and questions many artists have:

-What rights does an artist have when she creates artwork and how does she protect those rights?
-What can an artist legally use of someone else's copyrighted work?
-Is there a rule governing how much a work must be changed in order to legally use the work?
-What can an artist do if his artwork is destroyed or changed in a way that harms the integrity of the work?
-What if the artist isn't given credit for her work?

Panelists will help artists understand these most basic questions. There will be many real life examples and plenty of time for questions and answers.