Intellectual Property and Art Digitization

The ease of digital reproduction has pushed art institutions into a more conservative stance on the issue of intellectual property rights (much in the same vein as it did the music industry.) But to whom do what the J. Paul Getty Museum’s Kenneth Hamma labels “public-domain works of art” belong? Public domain works that are too old to be included in ongoing copyright protection, yet still remain out of the public’s view and also “of educators, and of the general milieu of creativity”.

A museum’s decision to guard this information hinders research and halts digitization efforts. If the Internet fosters the free-exchange of ideas for the sake of educational access, then these assertions undermine the mission of the museum and more general of digitization. Still, some proponents of intellectual property claim that controlling ownership of public domain artwork generates revenue through licensing fees, and this accrued funding directly benefits institutional operation, but no publicly available statistical data to effectuate this belief exists.

Excluding fiscal concerns, institutions often assume the role of guide and seek control
over educational usage, thereby influencing the creative processes that result from these visual resources. For instance, an art historian developing critical theory on a particular issue in the Dutch Renaissance may be granted usage of certain works and not others as decreed by the curatorial interpretations of museum staff. This practice narrows the possibility for a unique, fresh perspective somewhat by limiting the intellectual freedom of the scholar.

The issue overlaps other digitization obstacles that initiate debate in the arts community. For example, the usage of digital images for physical reproduction of artwork presents a common problem and also provides a more relatable model for those just beginning to grasp digitization. Few people take offense to Impressionist works featured on stationery sets, umbrellas, canvas tote bags and the like.

An ethical obligation to retain rights on certain pieces may validate relinquishing accessibility. In spite of the current intellectual property rights issues, perhaps both leaps in technology and the ideas of Kenneth Hamma and his like-minded colleagues will inspire a growing acceptance and ultimate embrace of digitization.

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