Kunstfreiheit.ch

This paper is not written from a legal perspective, but from a cultural heritage community perspective. This perspective is informed by legal professionals and publications and by direct experience with intellectual property issues that arise out of the daily practice of cultural professionals. One could say that this paper is an attempt to create a snapshot of the cultural heritage community's response to intellectual property law and practice regarding (digital) art. This paper is meant to ground that response not in terms of broad theories or abstract philosophies, but in terms of daily practice and real-world case studies. For that reason, the sources used for this paper are not mainly books, but instead more topical, conversational, and immediate sources such as digital art community websites, blogs, email discussion lists and extensive interviews with cultural heritage professionals in Canada and the United States ranging from artists to curators to educators. The intended audience for this paper is primarily the cultural heritage community who may benefit from the discussion and analysis of the issues and proposed paths of action. The legal community may also benefit from the case studies and articulation of how one area of law is playing out in the larger society whether it reaches the courts or not.