Question 3 – Intellectual Property Sam is an artist. Sam purchases a painting fr

Question

Question 3 – Intellectual Property

Sam is an artist. Sam purchases a painting from a local artist, Mary.

Sam loves the design, he finds it inspirational. Sam takes a lot of photocopies of the painting and includes them in his own work. His work is a large artwork with different parts of the photocopies all over the canvas. Sam’s work is then displayed in a local gallery.

Mary sees the painting and is not happy. Mary claims that Sam has infringed her copyright. Is Mary correct?

Using relevant legal principles, discuss whether Sam has infringed Mary’s copyright. If Sam has infringed Mary’s copyright, what remedies might be available?

Explanation / Answer

Sam has certainly infringed Mary's copyrights. Sam claimed Mary's work as his own. However, Sam did not give Mary the credit. He violated copyright principles which include right to reproduce, distribute, display or perform the protected work. Sam should have taken legal permission from Mary to include her work in his and give her due credit. The remedies for infringement include, imprisonment, imposition of fine or perhaps both. This is a criminal remedy.

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