AITB on the Road: Bush Bands Business
Artists in the Black Coordinator, Jacqueline Cornforth, reports on Arts Law's involvement in the recent Bush Bands Business event.
Arts Law releases Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) information sheet
Happy New (Financial) Year! Just a reminder to all charities that unless you are registered for calendar year reporting, all ACNC Annual Information Statement reports, as well as financial reports if you are a medium or large charity, should have been submitted by 30 June.
Protecting The Wandjina
‘Wandjina’ (also called ‘wanjina’ or ounjina’) are the sacred creation spirits and source of cultural law for the Worrora, Wunumbal and Ngarinyin Aboriginal peoples of the Kimberley. The Wandjina established the laws of life, marriage, kinship and obligation to country. They have been artistically depicted in a unique and distinctive form by those language groups for thousands of years, first in rock paintings and now on canvases as a contemporary art form.
Copyright, Pirates and VPNs
Australia has one of the highest online piracy rates in the world. One only needs to consider the popular television series Game of Thrones, the Season 5 premiere of which was downloaded illegally via torrent websites over 150,000 times by Australians alone.
Crowdfunding Across the Arts
Crowdfunding is now an important way for artists and creators to seek funding for their projects. In 2013, Arts Law published an information sheet, Cross platform creativity – online and digital media, which covered the role of crowdfunding in financing computer games and mobile apps. Arts Law’s NEW Crowdfunding information sheet expands the topic to recognise that seeking donations or pledges of support is actually relevant to most art forms.
Accounting for donations and in-kind support
I’ve had quite a few enquiries about how Charities or Not-for-Profit organisations can leverage their Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status to maximise the tax advantages for people who want to help them e.g. by providing in-kind support or making a donation.
The “Blurred Lines” case – Sometimes it really is just the vibe
After a long legal battle in the US between Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and the estate of Marvin Gaye over the song “Blurred Lines” and it's similarities to “Got to Give it Up”, a jury found there was copyright infringement and ordered the pair to pay US$7.3million. Read more about how the decision was made and whether this could happen in Australia.
Personal Properties Securities Act (PPSA)
“Why would I care?” you will ask. The simple answer is that you need to know whether you have a security interest of not, so you know whether you should register that interest. Read relevant news articles and view videos here.
Collage as child pornography and the limits to the right to freedom of expression – Case note
Collage as child pornography and the limits to the right to freedom of expression- Case Note on Johnson v Yore
by Rowena Orr SC and Georgie Coleman of the Victorian Bar
Contemporary artist Paul Yore was charged with (and ultimately acquitted of) a charge of producing child pornography and a charge of possessing child pornography, as a result of his installation at the Linden Centre for Contemporary Art in 2013, entitled Everything Is Fucked 2013. He is one of a small number of Australian artists to have been charged with a criminal offence as a result of their art, a group that includes Mike Brown, the artist to which Paul Yore was paying homage by the work in question.
This case note discusses the criminal trial of Paul Yore and the Magistrate’s decision: Johnson v Yore.[2] It focuses in particular on the issues the decision raises regarding the role of the right to freedom of expression in criminal prosecutions arising from artistic endeavours; the extent to which artificial images (such as collage) can constitute child pornography; and the authority of the police to excise images from an artistic work pursuant to a search warrant.
From Pantsdown to Kenny – Satire still at Large!
Satire and comedy are important tools used by artists, writers, cartoonists, comedians and political commentators alike to express their views while (with a bit of luck) making us laugh!
The recent case involving the ABC and political commentator, Chris Kenny, focussed our attention on the relationship between satire and defamation and whether or not the courts have a ‘sense of humour’ when it comes to satire and comedy that impact on a person’s reputation.
This article sets out some of the key issues that should be considered when creating a humorous or satirical piece, to assist people in assessing any defamation risk.