The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a copyright case on Oct. 29 that could have serious unintended consequences for the nation’s art museums: If a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is upheld, every museum in the United States that exhibits modern art created overseas could potentially be infringing copyright.
Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (The Young Ladies of Avignon) painted in Paris in 1907, now on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, is one of the works mentioned in a Supreme Court brief submitted by the Association of Art Museum Directors. Museums argue that if a Second Circuit decision is affirmed they could be subject to copyright infringement for displaying or loaning out items in their collections produced overseas.
“The most basic of museum functionsexhibiting artcould give rise to infringement claims,” said Stefan Mentzer, a partner with White & Case who filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court on behalf of the Association of Art Museum Directors and 28 museums of art. “The decision has the potential to disrupt the mission of American museums and interfere with the public’s access to art.”
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