"Art, IP and Copyright Law" Topic

An artist who creates fire bowls from recycled propane tanks has had his designs copied with the "recaster" (for lack of a better term) suing to overturn the artist's copyright.

link

It appears that the goal of the alleged IP thief is to price the artist out of his works.

Given this case and one described in the comments, GWs legal department isn't that far out of line after all.

Wyatt

Question (purely out of interest. I am not a lawyer and do not pretend to offer legal advice):

Is the manufacturer trying to claim copyright themselves? Or just claim the artist's claim to copyright is not valid?

It seems to me it is debatable that anyone can claim to own copyright on a beaten metal brazier in the first place*, though if the copyist has duplicated the exact form of the scalloped decorations etc, that may be a different matter.

*See note about me not being a lawyer and this not constituting legal advice or even opinion.

It seems to me it is debatable that anyone can claim to own copyright on a beaten metal brazier in the first place*, though if the copyist has duplicated the exact form of the scalloped decorations etc, that may be a different matter.

Exactly. Making a bowl out of anything is just an idea, and is not copyrightable. Only the actual design of the bowl itself is copyrightable. However, this extends to elements of that design, assuming these are original to the artist. (For example, the concept of a scalloped edge is not copyrightable. An original pattern incised in the bowl is copyrightable.)

My standard disclaimer: Not a lawyer, don't play one on TV. And if you're looking on a random Internet site for legal advice, you're gonna get what you paid for.

There are some differences between US and non-US copyright laws. For example in the UK copyright is not capable of being registered, only trademarks and registered designs have that capability.

Is the manufacturer trying to claim copyright themselves? Or just claim the artist's claim to copyright is not valid?

The original artists seems to have a registered copyright which the second artist is claiming is invalid. If registered copyright in the US falls under a similar concept to comparison of registered designs in the UK, then it will be down to the item as used compared to the design as registered to assess whether there is any infringement. However a not-uncommon tactic is to dispute that the trademark/design should have been registered in the first place, which it sounds as if the second artist is attempting to do.