Visual Artists Rights Act

Visual Artists Rights Act
Name	Visual Artists Rights Act
Enacted by	United States Congress
Enacted	1990
Citation	17 U.S.C. § 106A
Signed by	George H. W. Bush
Signed date	October 1990

Visual Artists Rights Act The Visual Artists Rights Act is a 1990 United States statute granting certain moral rights to creators of visual art, introduced amid debates involving Supreme Court of the United States, United States Copyright Office, Library of Congress, National Endowment for the Arts, Congressional Record, and advocacy by artists tied to institutions such as Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim Museum, Whitney Museum of American Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Act responded to controversies involving preservationists, collectors, and public art stakeholders including United States Postal Service projects, municipal commissions in New York City, Los Angeles, and federal agencies such as the Smithsonian Institution. Its passage reflected tensions seen in cases with creators associated with Pablo Picasso-era disputes, debates among organizations like Artists Rights Society, Visual Artists and Galleries Association, and legislative interest from figures connected to House Committee on the Judiciary, Senate Judiciary Committee, and cultural policy advocates.

Background and Enactment

Legislative momentum that produced the Act grew from incidents involving prominent artists, collectors, and institutions such as Richard Serra installations, controversies echoing disputes near Guggenheim Bilbao, public commissions in Chicago, and decisions affecting works shown at Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou, and Hayward Gallery. Congressional hearings included testimony referencing international instruments like the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, precedents from France, Germany, and doctrines discussed by scholars associated with Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Columbia Law School, and advocacy organizations such as American Civil Liberties Union and Legal Aid Society. The statute, enacted by the 101st United States Congress and signed by George H. W. Bush, amended the Copyright Act of 1976, codifying limited moral rights into United States law.

Scope and Key Provisions

The Act confers rights on authors of specific visual works including paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, and certain photographs with protections recognized in venues like Cooper Hewitt, Prado Museum, and private galleries represented by Sotheby's and Christie's. Covered works are defined by criteria referenced in copyright law amendments applied in contexts involving Smithsonian American Art Museum collections and municipal public art programs in cities such as Philadelphia and San Francisco. The statute distinguishes between works affixed to buildings (relevant to cases involving Frank Gehry buildings) and removable works owned by collectors like Peggy Guggenheim or displayed at institutions such as Metropolitan Museum of Art and affects transactions involving intermediaries like Gagosian Gallery and Hauser & Wirth.

Moral Rights Under VARA

The statute provides authors with non-economic moral rights: the right to claim authorship and to prevent intentional distortion, mutilation, or modification that would harm the artist's reputation, issues litigated in disputes involving figures such as Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Richard Serra, and institutions including Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and Institute of Contemporary Art. It grants rights to prevent destruction of works of "recognized stature," a phrase debated in courts like the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and adjudicated in trials before judges from Southern District of New York and Central District of California. Moral rights under the Act intersect with doctrines considered by scholars at University of Chicago Law School and practitioners from firms appearing before the Federal Circuit.

Limitations, Exceptions, and Defenses

The Act includes statutory limits: waivers in writing enforceable between contracting parties, exceptions for works made for hire as in disputes involving agencies like Federal Communications Commission-commissioned art, and defenses for owners who remove works affixed to buildings if notice procedures were followed, issues litigated in cases before the Supreme Court of the United States and lower courts including the Second Circuit and Fourth Circuit. The statute excludes many commercial reproductions and artworks created as part of collective projects tied to corporations such as Apple Inc. and Google LLC campuses; it also interacts with local ordinances in municipalities like Miami Beach, Seattle, and Austin.

Enforcement and Remedies

Enforcement mechanisms include injunctive relief, monetary damages, and in some cases removal or repair orders adjudicated in federal courts including the Southern District of New York, Central District of California, and appellate courts like the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Remedies have been sought by artists and estates affiliated with Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Estate of Andy Warhol, and living artists represented by organizations such as Artists Rights Society and law firms appearing before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Statutory procedures intersect with equitable doctrines applied by judges trained at Harvard Law School and Yale Law School.

Impact, Criticism, and Notable Cases

The Act reshaped interactions among artists, collectors, museums, and developers, influencing conduct at auction houses like Sotheby's and Christie's and sparking commentary from critics at The New York Times, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, and academic analysis from Columbia University, University of California, Berkeley, and New York University. Notable litigation involving enforcement and interpretation has reached the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and included cases tied to artists or estates resembling disputes involving Lucasfilm visual assets, public commissions in Seattle Center, and removals at corporate headquarters such as Facebook campus installations. Critics from institutions like American Institute for Conservation and commentators associated with Brookings Institution and Heritage Foundation have debated the balance between artists' moral rights and property owners' interests. The statute continues to influence policy dialogues in cultural capitals including Washington, D.C., New York City, Paris, Berlin, and London.

Category:United States copyright law Category:1990 in law Category:Arts law