Copyright

Bronze Age Foundry in Limehouse, London, is the first foundry in the UK to adopt a new bronze hallmarking scheme.

Law change could cost millions and expose them to criminal charge risk as expired design rights come back into force and upgrade

Peers in the House of Lords have made a last-ditch plea to the Government to scrap plans to review design rights under copyright law.

A Bill going through the UK parliament concerning design copyright threatens to create significant obstacles for those wishing to publish catalogues when staging exhibitions in commercial galleries or museums, says a leading academic.

‘The Return of Industrial Copyright?’, as Professor Bently’s paper is titled, sets out how, for decades, UK law has struggled to establish a balance between artistic copyright, which arises naturally, and design protection, which depends on registration.

Proposals to extend copyright on some designs from 25 to 70 years could set off a whole new era of legal disputes.

AS court proceedings draw closer, Christie’s have upped their long-running damages claim against Artprice from 2m euros to a hefty 63m euros. The auction house originally filed the suit against the French art database in 2008, saying that the reproduction of e-catalogues on their website constitutes copyright and trademark infringement.

A HOUSE of Lords ruling in a copyright case tightening the rules on what constitutes an infringement could have a significant impact on the Contemporary art scene.