Use of original artwork to create new artwork vs adapted artwork: copyright issues

Table of contents

• What are the implications for artists or galleries?
• What was the case about?
• What were the key legal arguments in this case?
• Would this case have been treated differently in the UK?

Article summary

IP analysis: This analysis considers the recent decision of the Danish Maritime and Commercial High Court in the dispute between the artist Tal Rosenzweig (Tal R) and the luxury watch company, Kanske Denmark ApS. The case deals with a perennial issue in the art world of the legal distinction between using another's artwork to create a new, non-infringing original work and an unauthorised, infringing copy or adaptation. Kenneth Mullen and Eleni Polycarpou, partners at Withers LLP, consider some of the issues of the case.