MUSM 420/FIN 210 – Art in a Legal World

Course Description and Objectives

Substantive knowledge of the doctrine and practice of Art Law requires an understanding of the disciplines of Intellectual Property, Copyright, (subject matter; originality; rights and infringements; the “fair use” doctrine) and Trademark Law, International & EU Law, and more recent elements of Non-fungible Tokens, (NFTs) Blockchain, and Artificial Intelligence.

Art in a Legal World introduces students, including those with no formal legal background, to the dramatic transformation from the “real life art world to a growing and expanding virtual art world.”

This course will introduce students of many professions to the concepts of:

1. NFTs (non-fungible tokens),”
2. “Blockchain” – bypassing the gatekeepers of dealers and gallerists
3. digital and three-dimensional media artists and the art world metaverse,”
4. Copyright: First Sale Doctrine.
5. The First Amendment
6. Ownership of Art; Buying, selling, and inheriting;
7. Art Markets; galleries, dealers, and clients

Students will also familiarize themselves with:

1. Moral and Economic Rights, in the United States and abroad.
2. Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA),
3. “the use of NFTs to enable American artists to list and sell artworks linked to smart contracts that set a rate for the payment of resale royalties and automatically issue the royalty payment whenever these artworks are resold on an exchange that supports transactions “on-chain” with the blockchain where the art is registered and cooperate with the royalty payment system.”1

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