[-empyre-] copyright infringements and other matters

[antoanetta ivanova <antoanetta@start.com.au>]

hi empyre__


following on some of the raised (shared ) 
comments... and what seems issues within 
issues -  perhaps it'd be good to talk about 
infingements in more detail.


What is an Infingement:

This can occur in a number of ways.

The publisher/ user does not credit your work 
correctly or does not credit you at all. 

This could mean one of two things: 
~there has been unauthorised use of your work ie 
you or your agent has not given a permission for 
the use of the work, or are unawere of its use, 
while the user may well be capitalising on it.

~ NOTE that if the work is published in a news 
paper or a magasine as part of a review on a show 
that you are in, under the Fair Deal Act the copyright 
is waived. The same goes for up to 30 sec of 
transmited footage. (Though the newspapers 
stretch it a bit.)

~there has been an error or omission due to a lack 
of attention to detail, lack of professional 
experience or knowledge, in which case you are 
most likely to receive an appology from the 
copyright user... and if the user values your work 
and you as a professional will settle the deal by 
paying you.

~ the work is used within the context of other 
material and the integrity of the work is lost. 
ie your moral right has been breached.

For example: you have created an animation and 
have given a prview copy to an independent 
curator/ publisher or producer,  thay decide to use 
the work for promotional/ funding purposes and 
add new images, text or sound to the original work 
in which process the context and integrity of your 
work is lost. The producer is liable for damages.

However, it is often the case with less established 
artists or those who have less means to afford 
legal protection that such practices are accepted. 

The artist does not want to be on bad terms with a 
producer or curator even though it is the artist 's 
right to seek explanation and compensation. If you 
find your selves in such a situation it is best to 
work with an independent consultant, agentcy or 
through an Arts Law Centre, who represent you 
and your interests, and who will charge between 
25% to 50% commission depending on complexity 
of the case. The fee is deducted from the royalties 
earned, or the infingement fee collected.

You can go to a commercial lawyer if you wish - in 
Australia they charge at least 50% on the $$$ 
collected on your behalf.

There are 40 copyright collecting agencies in the 
world which are linked through a recipricate 
agreements to collect royalties for artists. With a 
joint membership base of 180 000 artists working 
in the visual arts which include video, animation, 
digital imaging, netart....etc.

See what befets you may get if you joined one of 
them. The can be your powerful allies, especially 
when there are disputes and the artists does not 
want to breack a working relationship with a 
curator or producer on the grounds of an 
infringement dispute.

In Australia, and in my experience, arts 
organisations are chronically underfunded but 
asking for less ( in the hope of getting something) 
by  forgettinh to add the royalties line in the 
budgets only adds to the illness and the problem.

Unfortunately ( in Australia ), producers have also 
had their 'fair share' of the *slave arts economy*.... 
to join the writers (daniel)...


A senior artist, sitting on one of the funding boards 
at the Australia Council, told me I should not have 
asked for my fees as a producer of a major event 
and should have left only the artists' $$$ in the 
budget. It was a surprise to that person that I 
wasn;t prepared to work full time and without being 
paid.

The question is one of ethics as well as 
economics. What life styles we coose to have is up 
to each and everyone of us, but we should still 
collect that which we are entitled to.

A whole new discussion....


NOVA best,

Antoanetta







__________________________________________________________________
Get your free Australian email account at http://www.start.com.au