N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 14.03 – Artists authorship rights
§ 14.03. Artists authorship rights. 1. Except as limited by subdivision three of this section, on and after January first, nineteen hundred eighty-five, no person other than the artist or a person acting with the artist's consent shall knowingly display in a place accessible to the public or publish a work of fine art or limited edition multiple of not more than three hundred copies by that artist or a reproduction thereof in an altered, defaced, mutilated or modified form if the work is displayed, published or reproduced as being the work of the artist, or under circumstances under which it would reasonably be regarded as being the work of the artist, and damage to the artist's reputation is reasonably likely to result therefrom, except that this section shall not apply to sequential imagery such as that in motion pictures.
Terms Used In N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 14.03
- Artist: means the creator of a work of fine art or, in the case of multiples, the person who conceived or created the image which is contained in or which constitutes the master from which the individual print was made. See N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 11.01
- authorship: refers to the creator of a work of fine art or multiple or to the period, culture, source or origin, as the case may be, with which the creation of such work is identified in the description of the work. See N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 11.01
- Conservation: means acts taken to correct deterioration and alteration and acts taken to prevent, stop or retard deterioration. See N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 11.01
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- Fine art: means a painting, sculpture, drawing, or work of graphic art, and print, but not multiples. See N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 11.01
- Limited edition: means works of art produced from a master, all of which are the same image and bear numbers or other markings to denote the limited production thereof to a stated maximum number of multiples, or are otherwise held out as limited to a maximum number of multiples. See N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 11.01
- multiples: means prints, photographs, positive or negative, sculpture and similar art objects produced in more than one copy and sold, offered for sale or consigned in, into or from this state for an amount in excess of one hundred dollars exclusive of any frame or in the case of sculpture, an amount in excess of fifteen hundred dollars. See N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 11.01
- Person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, association or other group, however organized. See N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 11.01
- Reproduction: means a copy, in any medium, of a work of fine art, that is displayed or published under circumstances that, reasonably construed, evinces an intent that it be taken as a representation of a work of fine art as created by the artist. See N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law 11.01
2. (a) Except as limited by subdivision three of this section, the artist shall retain at all times the right to claim authorship, or, for just and valid reason, to disclaim authorship of such work. The right to claim authorship shall include the right of the artist to have his or her name appear on or in connection with such work as the artist. The right to disclaim authorship shall include the right of the artist to prevent his or her name from appearing on or in connection with such work as the artist. Just and valid reason for disclaiming authorship shall include that the work has been altered, defaced, mutilated or modified other than by the artist, without the artist's consent, and damage to the artist's reputation is reasonably likely to result or has resulted therefrom.
(b) The rights created by this subdivision shall exist in addition to any other rights and duties which may now or in the future be applicable.
3. (a) Alteration, defacement, mutilation or modification of such work resulting from the passage of time or the inherent nature of the materials will not by itself create a violation of subdivision one of this section or a right to disclaim authorship under subdivision two of this section; provided such alteration, defacement, mutilation or modification was not the result of gross negligence in maintaining or protecting the work of fine art.
(b) In the case of a reproduction, a change that is an ordinary result of the medium of reproduction does not by itself create a violation of subdivision one of this section or a right to disclaim authorship under subdivision two of this section.
(c) Conservation shall not constitute an alteration, defacement, mutilation or modification within the meaning of this section, unless the conservation work can be shown to be negligent.
(d) This section shall not apply to work prepared under contract for advertising or trade use unless the contract so provides.
(e) The provisions of this section shall apply only to works of fine art or limited edition multiples of not more than three hundred copies knowingly displayed in a place accessible to the public, published or reproduced in this state.
4. (a) An artist aggrieved under subdivision one or subdivision two of this section shall have a cause of action for legal and injunctive relief.
(b) No action may be maintained to enforce any liability under this section unless brought within three years of the act complained of or one year after the constructive discovery of such act, whichever is longer.