Copyright or Copyleft? Balancing Image Rights for Artists, Museums and Audiences

Abstract

Copyright was initially conceived as a bundle of rights of limited duration, designed to benefit society while also protecting the interests of creators. However, as technology and social behaviors have evolved, methods of sharing information no longer fit within copyright’s context. This study examines the issues, with particular focus on the visual arts and images used by arts-related organizations such as museums. Changes that would protect artists while allowing institutions to broadly share images of art works are proposed.