Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Could Taking A Selfie In A Museum Violate Copyright Law?
Techdirt: Copyright infringement is everywhere. A few years back, John Tehranian wrote a paper (and then a book*) called "Infringement Nation" about just how much copyright infringement happens incidentally on a daily basis. The conclusion, from a back of the envelope estimate, is that an average person is likely liable for $4.544 billion in incidental infringement in a normal year. And that's not for sharing music and movies and what not, but just doing the normal everyday things you do.
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7 comments:
I think it is great that the National Gallery in the UK has rescinded its laws on taking photos while encouraging the use of smartphone related research. I also dislike the panorama addendum to the laws because I feel it will not accomplish anything other than having people continue to take photos sneakily in museums. I do believe that copyright is very important because it is the only thing artists have to protect their work, but at the same time, when they give their pieces to museums that encourage the use of smartphones, it must be assumed that their art is going to end up everywhere.
I think its stupid for them to ban the taking of photos in museums. Yes, copyright is important to protect the artists, but if they're putting their piece in a museum, they are wanting to show the world their art. And is someone is excited to see a certain piece of artwork, they are going to want to share their excitement with their friends, so they will take a selfie and snapchat it or post it on Facebook. To discourage photo taking in museums is taking away an integral aspect of modern society and putting added stress on people who are just trying to have a worry-free life.
In a sense I get what they are saying about how taking a selfie in a museum is copyright, but there is a point that an artist is expressing themselves to an audience. And that audience is us. When someone goes to a museum, they want to share their experience with their family and friends. So social network websites, like snapchat and facebook, gives people the opportunity to do that. However, museums who are in it for the experience are also in it for the money. Yes, there may be a situation where people want to steal the artwork and sell it as there own. But art comes from other artists, and without those references, art wouldn't be what it is today. Even the visuals it a selfie can be a wonderful reference. Yes, I'm not the biggest fan of selfies, so I don't approve of them, but I don't think they are that big of a problem and I believe museums shouldn't worry about this issue as much.
As much as I dislike people taking pictures in museums (we had to do this for a recent project, and it really took me away from the experience and stopped me from actually absorbing the art I was looking at), I do think persecuting people for copyright violations based on cellphone pictures would be a bit silly. It sounds like this would only apply to temporary exhibits, which makes some sense since temporary exhibits are more likely to be by living artists where copyright laws still apply. I don't think that the greatest threat to artists right now is people taking blurry photos of their work with their cellphones- if someone wanted to steal someone's idea they would go about it a much better way, and they probably wouldn't be stopped by a rule about no selfies in a museum.
I understand where they are coming from, copyright and the internet are a very important issue in today's society and definitely needs to be addressed. I believe the reason for this conflict is the same reason we are not allowed to video tape inside a theatre. Part of the experience is to interact with the artwork/piece directly. However, going through legal action to put a stop to this is a bit over dramatic. I've been at many museums and take pictures occasionally. Usually the ones that i have problems in are art museums. Often times when this happens staff or volunteers firmly but kindly ask me to take no photos in this room/gallery. I think that if a museum or better yet the artist wishes to have no photos taken of their artwork then I will not argue, just don't sue me,thanks.
I'm glad the National Gallery has decided to allow photographs to be taken of its galleries in the UK, yet it's also very frustrating to have to proverbially 'look over your shoulder' every time you take a selfie or a picture of your friend. As artists, copyright is there to protect us and the pieces we've worked so hard to create. Which is great, yet it's also frustrating if the artwork you accidentally take a photography of something you're not supposed to and incidentally implicate yourself in a microcosm of a scandal. Perhaps it would do everyone better to have a sort of review of copyright law for each piece of art. Or perhaps a symbol or a signal that tells a certain audience what they might get into if they take a picture of themselves with it. That would be a good way to take pictures respectfully without having to deal with the nuisance of violating copyright law.
It is so strange how technology and cultural tendencies can branch into so many areas of law and politics. In general, I think it is rather obnoxious to take a galore of cell-pone photos while in a museum. We have been required to so that before for class, and I always feel very strange and disrespectful doing so. As far as respecting the work goes, placing yourself in front of the piece, as a selfie does, entirely removes the focus from the artwork and places it on you. I also agree with the copy write issues, as I believe artists are entitles to protect their work if they so choose, but even aside from that, taking a selfie in a museum is a silly thing to do.
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