Talk: Yale Law School – Intellectual Property and Copyright in Art History, Publishing, and Practice –– Reading Group: Borrowing

23 April 2021

This reading group asks how the law of intellectual property – particularly copyright, and primarily in the United States, though with occasional comparative studies – shapes the ways we create, copy, and disseminate images across media, whether in print books and publications or via various digital channels. We consider the ways in which copyright––and important exceptions, like fair use––impact who is able to access and use images, and how they do so.
Our approach to these questions is historically grounded, interdisciplinary, and collaborative:
We will delve into the historical and theoretical foundations of image ‘theft,’ reproduction, and (re)use, in the law as well as other disciplines. We will examine not only how images have been copied, transmitted, and appropriated, but also the changing moral and legal intuitions about such practices over time and across media.