7 Feb
2005
7 Feb
'05
4:16 p.m.
The closest U.S. case law I know of is Bridgeman Art Library Ltd. v. Corel Corporation (1999). There, a U.S. District Court ruled that photographic reproductions of two-dimensional works of art, where the goal is to make as accurate a reproduction of the work as possible, were not 'original works,' and therefore not copyrightable. By no means does this apply to all photographs of artwork, but only those where the artistic capacity of the photographer in choosing angle, composing the subject matter, selecting lighting, etc., has been subjugated to the overarching goal of reproducing the artwork as accurately as possible. -- RS