Luann Udell / Durable Goods

During my first stint as a faculty member of the Arts Business Institute session in Bristol TN a few weeks ago, a participant asked me about copyright law. I gave her my basic understanding of the issue, with the usual caveats (I’M NOT A LAWYER!!). I thought I already knew most of the myths associated with copyright law.

Turns out I’m just as ignorant as most people. Today I found a reference to a website from a collage mail list I belong to. At www.funnystrange.com, a collage artist did her own extensive research into copyright law with regards to collage. Hers is a better explanation than mine of the issues involved. Click the title for her website section on copyright law. Or visit www.funnystrange.com and go to the copyright section.

(Note: I had trouble accessing this site through links, but if you Google “funny + strange + copyright”, that should get you to the site.)

I'm also halfway through an article on copyright and creative works, written by Malcolm Gladwell for the November 22, 2004 issue of THE NEW YORKER. "Something Borrowed"--It's a great article and I highly recommend it.

As an artist, and as a person who often genuinely "feels" both sides of an issue, I can say I understand the kicked-in-the-stomach feeling when someone copies your work. Yet I also understand that the artistic process is never a totally isolated incident, rarely occuring in a vacuum. We are inspired by and constantly transform what we see/hear/experience in our lives, hopefully into something uniquely ours.

But not in a vacuum...