Re: "ARS" query from C. Pearson (fwd)

    Once again, read 17 U.S.C. sec. 120. No permission is necessary to publish a photo of an architectural work (except of course from the person who owns the architectual work).

Paul Heald
<heald[_at_]jd.lawsch.uga.edu>  

> > Has anyone heard of an organization called ARS (or perhaps Ars)?
> >>>
> >>> It is apparently a body that gives permission to use images of art and
> >>> architecture for republication. Specifically, I have been told that
> >>> in order to publish some images of architectural works by Le Corbusier
> >>> in an article that I have forthcoming, I will have to obtain rights
> >>> from the group called ARS, the American arm of a European organization
> >>> known as the ADAGP. I have not been able to find any records of these
> >>> associations in reference books on organizations or acronyms.
>
> Don't forget VAGA.
>
> In additon to the Artists Rights Society (ARS) (212-840-1805), there's
> also the Visual Artist and Galleries Association (VAGA) (212-420-9160).
> ARS and VAGA can assist you locate an artist, or artist's estate,
> anywhere in the world. ARS and VAGA are artist's' rights organizations
> that grant licenses and distribute monies on behalf of their members.
> ARS tends to represent more Western European artists, such as Dali, Miro
> and Picasso, than VAGA. As a general rule, if the work was created by
> an American artist (e.g., Jasper Johns, George Segal, Larry Rivers,
> Rauschenberg), go to VAGA first.
>
> What's important to remember about fine art reproductions, is that you
> need two sets of permissions. First, rights from the person or entity
> who owns the photographic or digital representation of the work you want
> to copy. Second, provided, the work is in copyright, rights from the
> original artist, or artist's estate. Museums, galleries and collectors
> do not, as a rule, automatically obtain copyright in the works they
> acquire. However, the museum, gallery, stock house, or collector may
> control "access" to the work, and therefore reproduction rights, even
> if the work is in the public domain. Therefore, when you request
> permission to use a photographic or digital image, you are actually
> paying for the right to use the photographic or digital image, NOT the
> original artwork.
>
> Lloyd J. Jassin
> Jassin & Schechter
> 888 Seventh Avenue
> New York, NY 10106
> 212-489-6248
> co-author, "An Author's Guide to Copyright Clearances, Permissions and
> Releases" (John Wiley)
Received on Mon Oct 21 1996 - 13:36:21 GMT