Comment by Jimmy A. Frazier
While American law has traditionally been concerned with the economic rights of copyright owners, some limited protections for the moral rights of artists have recently been enacted. Much of this artist-centered thinking has been criticized from an economic perspective. This Comment analyzes the movement for artists' rights-and in particular, the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990, the creation of a National Film Registry, and legislative proposals for a full-fledged resale royalty-as a problem for the sociology of art. The Comment uses the symbolic interactionist sociology of art of Howard S. Becker, whose theoretical focus is culture's role in coordinating the sundry activities that must take place in order for art to exist. Building on a comparison of American moral rights legislation and more developed French moral rights legislation, the Comment concludes that Becker underestimated the importance of copyright law in his theory. Specifically, the state's decision to offer moral rights protections likely influences whether and what artists will produce, while dramatically increasing the state's power to define what actually qualifies as art. The Comment further suggests that this potential state power could ultimately undermine art, unless statutory or practical obstacles work to inhibit the state's reach. The Comment concludes by comparing the advantages and disadvantages of several of these obstacles to state power.
About the Author
Jimmy A. Frazier. B.A. 1987, Northeastern (Oklahoma) State University; M.A. 1990, Bowling Green State University; J.D. Candidate 1996, Tulane Law School.
Citation
70 Tul. L. Rev. 313 (1995)