Legal Guide for the Visual Artist

An updated edition of the legal art classic.

Legal Guide for the Visual Artist is a classic guide for artists. This sixth edition is completely revised and updated to provide an in-depth view of the legal issues facing the visual artist today and provides practical legal guidance for any visual artist involved with creative work. It has been over twelve years since the fifth edition was published, and so much has changed in the world since that time, especially in the law and artists’ legal rights and obligations. This edition has been updated for both a new generation of visual artists and for those who have purchased earlier editions.

Among the many new topics covered in this comprehensive guide are: copyright fair use transformative rights; recognition of the rights of temporal street art in the Five Pointz VARA case; the demise of California’s Resale Royalty statute; NFTs; detailed coverage of the myriad developments in copyright (including online copyright registration procedures and use of art on the Internet); changes in laws protecting artists in artist-gallery relationships are explained in depth; scope of First Amendment protections for graffiti art and the sale of art in public spaces; detailed as well as new cases dealing with art and privacy; and a model contract for Web site design and much more. The book also covers copyrights, moral rights, contracts, licensing, sales, special risks and protections for art and artists, book publishing, video and multimedia works, leases, taxation, estate planning, museums, collecting, grants, and how to find the best professional advisers and attorneys. In addition, the book suggests basic strategies for negotiation, gives information to help with further action, contains many sample legal forms and contracts, and shows how to locate artists’ groups and Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts organizations.

Legal Guide for the Visual Artist is a must-have for any visual artist hoping to share, sell, display, or publish their art.

Author Biography

Tad Crawfordserved as General Counsel to the Graphic Artists Guild and taught law for artists at the School of Visual Arts. He is the author of numerous books for creative professionals, includingThe Artist-Gallery PartnershipandBusiness and Legal Forms for Artists. Other books by him includeThe Secret Life of Moneyand the novel titledA Floating Life.The founder and publisher of Allworth Press, he lives in New York City.

M. J. Bogatin is a founding member of the San Francisco Bay Area law firm of Bogatin, Corman & Gold. For over forty years, his practice has emphasized art, entertainment, and intellectual property law. His visual arts practice includes representation of artists with large public art commissions and moral rights litigation claims. He has served as Chairman of the Board of California Lawyers for the Arts and as general counsel to many nonprofit arts organizations. He maintained a bLAWg on visual art licensing for several years, and regularly serves as a featured speaker on artists’ legal rights for both live audiences and in webcasts online.