Internet Laws and ArtMedia: Why Artists Need to Copyright Their Digital Art
Art is incredibly valuable to artists. It's your love, passion, and expertise displayed in an emotional, tangible piece. As the internet continues to breed its own culture, mobile platforms continue to develop as an important method of Internet communications, and sophisticated protocols increasingly allow consumers to access internet usage via their smartphones, internet artists are using the internet as a medium to tell stories and create social, political, and emotional movements.
But what happens when your art is misused? As the internet era unfolds and digital art continues to proliferate, artists need to take important steps to safeguard their valuable art. Copyrighting your art and leveraging the plethora of internet laws to protect your investment is crucial for artists looking to keep their art under their control. A copyright protects an original work of authorship that has been fixed in a tangible medium of expression.
What defines internet art? What are internet laws? How do they apply to internet art? And why should internet artists invest in copyrighting their works?
What is Internet Art?
Internet art (also called Net art) is a subgenre of art created from internet materials and other sites, or by use of graphic software and digital applications. Typically, this art is interactive in nature — though it certainly isn't a requirement. The nature of internet art is that it makes sense within the confines of internet culture.
Art uploaded to the internet isn't inherently internet art, but user-generated content from that work of art is. Instead, net art requires the internet to give it context, and it can't exist without the internet (or at least internet culture.)
Internet art can be made using a variety of mediums, including software, video, browsers, and websites. Two of the most famous examples of net artists are Rafael Rozendaal and An Xiao. Rozendaal creates art using websites, some of which have sold at auction — including ifnothenyes.com. An Xiao creates art around meme culture, often creating intricate website designs in the process.
It's important to note that internet art doesn't have to be displayed through digital mediums. For example, the Mori Building digital art museum and Team Lab Borderless launched the first digital art museum in Tokyo, Japan It's the first internet art gallery, showcasing internet art in both its home medium (the internet) as well as physical mediums. Artists like Penelope Umbrico have created physical internet art. Her famous "Suns from Flickr" display showcased images of sunsets on the website Flicker shown on old-school CRT TVs that she found lying about. So, while this display isn't bound to the internet, it incorporates internet culture and doesn't make sense outside of the confines of the internet. Also, Logistics Fine Arts Gallery in Miami, has launched the Luminico Sonoro exhibition where artist Muu Blanco is displaying his newest collection of mixed media art, that includes video and sound.
Understanding Internet Law
For artists that create net art, and those who promote, post, and sell their artworks online, understanding internet laws is crucial towards protecting and displaying art. Internet laws are a group of laws that apply to the internet, including electronic goods and services, and online marketing. Social media law, in many respects, overlaps with general internet law. — though they don't have to directly stem from the internet. So, like net art, internet laws can exist outside and inside the internet as a medium, but they have something to say about the internet directly.
Copyright laws, contract laws, and privacy laws all predate the internet, but they are useful when dealing with internet intellectual rights and content. The internet is still a relatively new medium as far as the law is concerned. So, many specific internet circumstances aren't covered by internet-specific laws. Instead, judges and lawyers must interpret common law outside of the internet and apply that law to the internet as a medium.
The combination of both laws created for the internet and laws that predate the internet but could be applied to the internet are referred to as "internet law."
Internet Art Copyright
By understanding both internet art as a medium and internet law as a mode of protecting that medium, we can start to delve into the basic principles of internet art copyright.
There are 6 primary "internet laws" that apply to internet art copyright.
No Electronic Theft Act: Provides punishment to those who use intellectual property without permission (copyright infringement) even if they aren't using it for monetary gain. This law is complex, and there are many unique circumstances that need to be met for individuals to be considered punishable.
Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA): Provides protection to individuals and corporations from "cybersquatters" (i.e., people who register domains that are identical or similar to trademarked concepts.) If someone were to attempt to register semi-identical domains to a website that you created as part of your internet art, you might have a claim against them.
Fair Use Doctrine: Provides copyright infringement defense on the basis of "fair use" with good faith in specific circumstances. Each case fair use case is unique and the circumstances of the case will dictate the outcome.
Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA): Extends copyright protection to the digital world and surfaces the term "Fair Use" in regards to digital mediums. This is what allows the rapid spread of digital information without intrinsically interrupting the principles of the Fair Use Doctrine. This protects your art under specific circumstances, and it allows artists to leverage digital assets to create said internet art.
Lanham Act: Allows trademarks to be created and prevents unfair competition practices as a result. Many artists have an online presence, as well, and their work is thus easily identifiable by their style, even if it is not signed. The Lanham Act will protect a distinctive design or trade dress (design, configuration or shape of materials, including signature or style) of a work of art.
*The Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA), that protects the moral rights of attribution, of integrity, and the right to prevent destruction of visual art, does not reach all works of authorship protected by the Copyright Act, and specifically in the field of art, it does not extend to digital embodiments of artworks (eg. electronic, digital or internet art).
To take advantage of the protections above, internet artists need to copyright their work. This prevents it from being stolen, abused, and misused without the artist's permission. We recommend that all artists hire an attorney to draft their copyright paperwork and review artist license agreements. We also recommend that you contact your local attorney if you feel that your art is being misused or licensed without your permission.
Are You Ready to Protect Your Art?
Contact Ioberti Legal to learn more about how I can help you protect your precious art.
*This article is designed to provide general important information on the specific subject matter above discussed and is provided with the understanding that the author is not rendering any legal or professional services or advice. If such services are required, you should retain competent legal counsel to revise your particular circumstances.
Photo: Luca Florio on Unsplash