Table of Contents

1. Introduction; 2. Art, copyright and 'authors', 1: 1850–62; 3. Art, copyright and 'authors', 2: 1862–11; 4. Art, copyright and collectors: the wrongs that artists commit; 5. Art, copyright and the face: a nineteenth-century publicity right; 6. Art, copyright and the public interest: galleries, printsellers and 'pirates'; 7. Drawing conclusions: images of art and images of copyright.

Promotional Information

The first in-depth study of the history of copyright protecting the visual arts.

About the Author

Elena Cooper is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at CREATe, University of Glasgow, where she has been a postdoctoral researcher since 2014. Prior to this, she was Orton Fellow in Intellectual Property Law at Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge. Prior to her time at Cambridge, Elena was a solicitor specialising in intellectual property litigation. Elena is a member of the British Art Network organised by the Tate and The Institute of Art and Law.

Reviews

'As today, copyright [in the nineteenth century] was sensitive to many factors: technology, culture, economy, and politics, and Dr Cooper's book is an essential guide to their impact, the contemporary debates … and the legislation that emerged from those discussions … The book is required reading for anyone wanting to properly understand nineteenth century photography.' Dr. Michael Pritchard, The PhotoHistorian

'… the product of a prodigious amount of archival research into artistic and legal sources … the book makes a significant contribution not only to the history of copyright but also to the history and sociology of art and the history of the second half of the long 19th century more generally.' Lord Justice Richard Arnold, Oxford Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice

'Elena Cooper's ground-breaking study of the history of artistic copyright … illustrates the importance of copyright history if we are to critically examine the current copyright landscape and ongoing policy debates surrounding copyright … To look at the past with this impressive and painstakingly thorough book as our guide … is to engage with different perspectives from our own. Perspectives which … help the reader/explorer see … our own frenetic digital copyright landscape in a different and more critical light.' Simon Stokes, Art Antiquity and the Law

'Art and Modern Copyright: The Contested Image is a fine example of the rich scholarship that has come out of the last two decades' mobilisation of a field with productive new approaches to the study of copyright history … As the media theorist Marshal Mcluhan said, the 'medium is the message': any new technology needs a response from the law. Cooper's book may be a place to start when looking for an appropriate response.' Stina Teilmann-Lock, Cambridge Law Journal

'Drawing on extensive archival work … Cooper ably demonstrates her central claim that a consideration of how copyright law and art interacted in [the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries] brings new and valuable insights to our understanding of the law's modern development.' Isabella Alexander, Legal Studies

'Through its thematic breadth, the book meticulously analyzes different aspects of copyright law and its developments. Despite the fact that the book is highly dependent on study about UK law, the book does a great job in unpacking how social and economic context are closely related to the history of artistic copyright in general. For the those interested in investigating what purposes copyright ultimately serves, Dr. Cooper's Art and Modern Copyright can be a great guidebook.' Sophie Chung, Center for Art Law