Register Now | Law and the Arts: A Free Resource Series
Join us this spring for a series of free legal resources for artists, including two free online workshops and a Pro Bono Legal Clinic.
New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) and the Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law (EASL) Section of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) are collaborating to offer a series of free legal resources for artists, including two free online workshops in May and June. They will also present a Pro Bono Legal Clinic in July with the Intellectual Property Section of the NYSBA to support creative communities. NYFA has a longstanding partnership with EASL, developing numerous legal clinics and related programs, with contributions by EASL to the legal section of The Profitable Artist.
NYFA is committed to its mission of empowering working artists and emerging arts organizations across all disciplines and aims to be a resource to artists, arts administrators, and students everywhere, especially during this unprecedented pandemic.
The online workshops will be recorded and shared with all previously registered participants after the session concludes. It will be available for viewing up to one month after the workshop date. The legal clinic will NOT be recorded or shared.
If you have questions, please email [email protected].
Read on for more details on each and how to register.
Three Cases Every Artist Should Know….and Update
Presenter: Carol Steinberg, Faculty, School of Visual Arts, and Attorney in New York City and the East End of Long Island, NY
Date: Thursday, May 13, 2021, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM EDT
Location: Zoom Webinar Platform
You know that you need to understand more about your legal rights. You want to protect your work and avoid problems. Where to start? Would you like to learn how to protect your work? Seeking guidance as to how to use work that is out there, or how to protect your work from distortion or mutilation? If so, this is the course for you. This webinar will give visual artists an introduction to these basic artists’ rights in plain English—no legalese.
In this webinar, you will get an introduction to three important areas of the law that govern visual art:
- The first case will introduce you to the basics of Copyright Law by discussing a lawsuit in which a photographer successfully sued various news outlets for using his photographs without payment or attribution.
- The second case will introduce the basics of Fair Use—when an artist can legally use another artist’s copyrighted work. The case used to illustrate this concept involved the photographer Patrick Cariou and appropriation artist Richard Prince. A more recent decision in a case by photographer Lynn Goldsmith against Andy Warhol may further clarify this concept.
- Finally, the third case illustrates the concept of moral rights—how to protect your artwork from distortion, mutilation, or destruction. The landmark 5 Pointz case illustrates how artists can successfully assert their rights in the face of powerful opposing forces.
To register for “Three Cases Every Artist Should Know,” click here.
Using Images of Others in Your Creative Work
Presenters: Judith Bass, Law Offices of Judith B. Bass, New York, NY; and Carol Steinberg, Faculty, School of Visual Arts, and Attorney in New York City and the East End of Long Island, NY
Date: Thursday, June 17, 2021, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EDT
Location: Zoom Webinar Platform
There are so-called “rights of privacy” and a “right of publicity” which may govern the “commercial” use of images of people, including celebrities, in your work. A new law is about to become effective in New York State, which for the first time establishes a right of publicity for certain deceased individuals, prohibits the use of digital replicas of certain deceased performers, and also restricts the distribution of “deepfakes” of nonconsenting individuals. Learn the basics of these laws and of the new law in this webinar.
This workshop is geared toward individual artists across all disciplines. We will go over:
- The basic rules governing the use of photos and images of other people in your creative work
- These rules as they apply to celebrities’ images
- When releases are needed
- New changes in the law
This webinar is now fully booked. Please click here to sign up for the waiting list to be informed of any cancellations.
The two legal webinars in May and June are a guide and for general informational purposes only. They do not provide any specific legal advice nor create any attorney-client relationship.
Pro Bono Legal Clinic
Date: Tuesday, July 20, 2021, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM EDT
Location: Zoom Platform
This legal clinic offers one-on-one 30-minute legal sessions on various art-related issues. The attorneys will be available to advise on topics including intellectual property, licensing, collaboration, nonprofits, and contracts.
To qualify for a pro bono legal consultation, you or your organization must provide your most recent tax return, demonstrating that you are:
- An individual with an adjusted gross income of less than $35,000
- An individual with dependents and an adjusted gross income of less than $45,000
- Married, filing jointly with an adjusted gross income of less than $45,000
- Married, filing jointly with dependents and with an adjusted income less than $55,000
- An organization or business with an income less than $45,000
Note: You must also verify that you or your organization pays taxes. For that you will need to provide a recent tax return in order to verify your income.
*Completion of this form is not a confirmation; you will receive an email with more instructions, if we are able to accommodate you.
If you have additional questions, please email [email protected].
This program is part of NYFA Learning, which includes professional development for artists and arts administrators. Sign up for NYFA’s free bi-weekly newsletter to receive updates on future programs.
