Copyright and Licensing FAQ

A core part of our mission at Arts Build Community is to bring art into the lives of our community. We absolutely love seeing people share their photos and experiences with the murals—whether on social media, during tours, or in other ways. It's a rewarding way to know that the murals are connecting with our community.

At the same time, we believe it's important to clarify what is and isn't allowed when it comes to interacting with the murals and reusing the artwork.

MURALS IN THE PUBLIC ARE COPYRIGHTED ARTWORK

First and foremost, the copyright of the artwork on the mural remains with the artist. The mural is their intellectual property and creative vision that they've generously shared with us, and it’s protected in several ways:

From the Americans for the Arts site:
Who owns the copyright for a public artwork?

The artist retains all rights under the Copyright Act of 1976 (17 USC Section 101) as the sole author of the work for the duration of the copyright. The duration of copyright in the United States is currently the life of the author, plus 70 years.

 

Title to the artwork passes to the client or commissioning agency/organization upon their written acceptance of and payment for the work, but copyright belongs to and remains with the artist. In other words, although the client may “own” the work of art, the artist who created the work owns the copyright, including all ways in which that artwork is represented (photos, video, ads, logos, branding), other than in situ (on-site documentation photos). Artists may wish to register their copyright with the federal government. For more information on copyright, refer to Public Art Network’s Best Practices Guidelines.

Source:  https://www.americansforthearts.org/by-program/networks-and-councils/public-art-network/faq/who-owns-the-copyright-for-a-public-artwork

These rights were expanded with the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA)

The Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA), (Pub. L. 101–650 title VI, 17 U.S.C. § 106A), is a United States law granting certain rights to artists.

VARA was the first federal copyright legislation to grant protection to moral rights. Under VARA, works of art that meet certain requirements afford their authors additional rights in the works, regardless of any subsequent physical ownership of the work itself, or regardless of who holds the copyright to the work. For instance, a painter may insist on proper attribution of their painting, and in some instances may sue the owner of the physical painting for destroying the painting even if the owner of the painting lawfully owned it.[1]

SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_Artists_Rights_Act

VARA exclusively grants authors of works that fall under the protection of the Act the following rights

  • right to claim authorship

  • right to prevent the use of one’s name on any work the author did not create

  • right to prevent the use of one’s name on any work that has been distorted, mutilated, or modified in a way that would be prejudicial to the author’s honor or reputation

  • right to prevent distortion, mutilation, or modification that would prejudice the author’s honor or reputation

  • right to prevent any destruction of a work of recognized stature and any intentional or grossly negligent destruction of that work is a violation of that right.

Source:  https://artrepreneur.com/journal/street-art-or-vandalism/

SO WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE ME, THE MURAL VIEWER?

The murals are meant to be enjoyed, appreciated, and shared! It's perfectly fine to take photos with your friends and family, or snap shots for your own inspiration later. Feel free to share them on your personal social media (just be sure to tag the artist when you do!).

However, if you plan to reproduce the murals for things like films, books, clothing, or selling photos of them, you’ll need written permission from the artist. Essentially, if you're using the artwork to create a new product for profit, that’s when you need formal consent. This consent typically comes in the form of a “license.”

A great explanation of this is on Clarion Alley Mural Projects mural usage FAQ:

https://clarionalleymuralproject.org/murals/mural-faq-licensing-film-video-photography/

The details will vary from location to location, but ultimately, usage of another person’s artwork requires a license and permission.

NOTE:  There ARE also many other authorized fair use usages, such as art critique, some academic projects, etc. If you have questions, contact us at the email below!

LICENSING IMAGES OF MURALS

If you are interested in licensing a photograph of a mural, be it one you took or one you’ve seen on our site/social media, please reach out to us and we can help facilitate the discussion and put you in contact with the appropriate artists. Most artists are receptive to working with these inquiries

Contact us: artsbuildcommunity@gmail.com

ARTISTS: REGISTERING YOUR MURAL

While your artwork is “copyrighted” as soon as you finish your mural, the law and enforcement of your copyright really needs you to have a registered copyright with the US copyright office (for murals created in the US). So you have the copyright upon completion, but you can’t do much to enforce it without registration.

It may FEEL daunting, but it’s actually a pretty simple process with a relatively reasonable fee for protecting your work. You may not want/need to register all of your work, but we do highly recommend work that you feel is most important to you (and/or in need of extra protection!)

https://www.copyright.gov

https://www.copyright.gov/registration/

(Learn more under Visual Arts, and log in on this page to actually register your artwork!)

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

To learn more, here’s some really helpful articles from the last few years that we’ve used to help guide our own work. This is by no means comprehensive, but a good few places to start!