Hi Julia,

The issue of artist right's about copyright and intellectual property for public art is complex, and challenging to explain to marketing professionals and artist. 

When a work of art is commissioned or installed in public, the artist will maintain their intellectual property ownership and rights (including copyright) associated with their artwork. When the City commissions a project our contract and onboarding process covers a range of topics including e.g. intellectual property, copyright, licensing, sub-licensing, and acknowledgments. Yourself and your legal counsel will know best what the artist agreement outlined to ensure what rights the commissioning authority and the individual artist have to negotiate with this third-party company.

Nancy Schön is an excellent example of an artist that knows and exercises her rights to protect her intellectual property. I have known some artists to simply mail invoices to companies for using their artwork in a company's marketing campaign. The Arts and Business Council is an incredible resource for public artists to learn what rights they have in these situations. They provide legal assistance, workshops, and online webinars for public artists.

Best,

Chris

On Tue, Apr 24, 2018 at 3:50 PM, Julia Moore <julia.moore.work@gmail.com> wrote:
We're looking for some model language to educate the public that yes, public art is copyrighted by the artist and no, it's not free for people to take photos of it and use the photos commercially.  What words do you use that seems to work for you, and do you put it on your public signage next to the artwork?  What's been the response?

Thanks!

--
Julia Muney Moore
Director of Public Art
Arts Council of Indianapolis

(317) 631-3301 x240
(317) 332-8382 mobile

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--

Christian Guerra

Art Collection + Program Manager of the Boston Art Commission

Mayor's Office of Arts + Culture, City of Boston

Boston City Hall Rm 802 | 617.635.2424

PublicArtBoston.com | Boston.gov/arts | Boston.gov/Boston-AIR