Copyright and Contemporary Art Practice


Tuesday, October 16, 2007
6:00 pm

Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI)
535 West 22nd Street, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10011


Admission free
Reservations required: info@eai.org



EAI invites you to attend a panel discussion about copyright law and contemporary creative practice. This panel, organized by EAI and Elizabeth Kessenides, an attorney and writer, will be led by a group of four legal experts with a range of experience in major arts institutions, universities and private practice.

The implications of copyright laws, and concepts of originality, have changed dramatically over the last several decades. Since the mid 1970s there has been major copyright reform in the US. The rise of media culture and personal computers has enabled individuals to borrow, sample, appropriate and remix to an unprecedented degree. These strategies have become integral to contemporary art making.

During this period, in which technology has instigated the globalization of information, the exclusive monopoly rights of copyright owners have increased significantly. The law grants creators extremely broad rights over the use of their work - over making reproductions, creating 'derivative works,' and publicly performing and displaying the work. In addition, many forms of creative production are given copyright protection; literary works, computer software, music, moving pictures, dramatic works, works of visual art and architectural works are all protected by copyright.

The expansive scope of copyright law is increasingly problematic for artists and creators. There are real questions about whether the law, at this time, is restricting creative production as opposed to encouraging it. Will the law force new creative practices to emerge as copyright owners increasingly litigate infringement claims?

We would like to encourage a focused discussion about this subject. For this reason, limited seating is available, and an RSVP is required.

To RSVP, or for further information, please email info@eai.org with the subject line "copyright panel."

A recording of the discussion will be made available as part of EAI's new project, The Online Resource Guide for Exhibiting, Collecting & Preserving Media Art, a comprehensive source for information on single-channel video, computer-based art, and media installation: http://resourceguide.eai.org


Topics to be covered:

1. Copyright Law, background and introduction: Elizabeth Kessenides
2. The "Fair Use" Defense: Rebecca Tushnet, Georgetown School of Law
3. Copyright issues in Museums: Nancy Adelson, MoMA
4. Access to images/Open Source: Gretchen Wagner


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About the Panelists


Nancy Adelson

Nancy Adelson is Associate General Counsel at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. Before joining MoMA in 1998, she spent nearly six years with Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (VLA), a legal aid organization that provides free legal assistance and information to low income artists. At VLA, Ms. Adelson counseled artist-clients, taught legal clinics and lectured on legal issues of concern to the arts community. She began her legal career as a litigation associate, at the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Ms. Adelson holds a JD degree from the New York University School of Law and a BA in Art History from Yale University.


Elizabeth Kessenides

Elizabeth Kessenides is an attorney and a writer in private practice in New York City. Her private practice concentrates on business law and art law matters, where her clients include artists, galleries, charities and non-profits, and companies in the technology and entertainment sectors. Before opening her own law office, Ms. Kessenides spent 18 years with multinational law firms in New York, including Davis Polk & Wardwell and Covington & Burling, where she was a partner for many years. Her curatorial proposals include One Woman Acts: female impersonation and visual culture and suburban love stories. She has a JD from New York University School of Law and a BA from Barnard College. Ms. Kessenides is a member of the New York City Bar Association Art Law Committee.


Rebecca Tushnet

Rebecca Tushnet is a professor at the Georgetown University Law Center. After clerking for Chief Judge Edward R. Becker of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia and Associate Justice David H. Souter, she practiced intellectual property law at Debevoise & Plimpton before joining the NYU faculty, then moving to Georgetown. Her work currently focuses on the relationship between the First Amendment and false advertising law. Her publications include "Gone in 60 Milliseconds: Trademark Law and Cognitive Science" (Texas L. Rev. forthcoming 2007); "My Library: Copyright and the Role of Institutions in a Peer-to-Peer World" (UCLA L. Rev. 2006), "Copy This Essay: How Fair Use Doctrine Harms Free Speech and How Copying Serves It" (Yale L.J. 2004), and "Copyright as a Model for Free Speech Law" (B.C. L. Rev. 2000).


Gretchen Wagner

Gretchen Wagner is the General Counsel of ARTstor, a not-for-profit organization that makes available a digital library of art images for educational use. At ARTstor, Ms. Wagner's practice focuses on copyright issues in the context of the use of visual art works online. She spends significant time working with artists and their representatives, photographers, museums and educational users on the use of images for teaching, study and other educational uses. Before ARTstor, Ms. Wagner was the Assistant General Counsel of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell. Ms. Wagner is a member of the New York City Bar Association Art Law Committee.


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About EAI

Founded in 1971, Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI) is one of the world's leading nonprofit resources for video art and interactive media. EAI's core program is the international distribution of a major collection of new and historical media works by artists. EAI's activities include a preservation program, viewing access, educational services, online resources, and public programs such as exhibitions and lectures. The Online Catalogue provides a comprehensive resource on the 175 artists and 3,000 works in the EAI collection, including extensive research materials. www.eai.org

Please visit EAI's new project, The Online Resource Guide for Exhibiting, Collecting & Preserving Media Art, a comprehensive source for information on single-channel video, computer-based art, and media installation: http://resourceguide.eai.org


Electronic Arts Intermix
535 West 22nd Street, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10011
(212) 337-0680 tel
(212) 337-0679 fax
info@eai.org


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This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.