<
https://www.techdirt.com/2022/02/16/auguste-rodins-sculptures-are-public-domain-3d-scans-them-should-be-too/>
"Auguste Rodin is without doubt one of the greatest sculptors in history.
Equally without doubt, his works are now in the public domain, since he died in
1917. Unfortunately, the situation in France is a little more complicated, for
reasons the artist and public domain campaigner Cosmo Wenman explains:
Shortly before his death, Rodin willed his estate to the French government,
which created the Musée Rodin and assigned to it droit moral (“moral
rights”) in Rodin’s oeuvre. By these rights the museum is permitted under
French law to manufacture and sell a limited quantity of modern, posthumous
bronze casts and represent them as “original” Rodin works. Musée Rodin earns
considerable income from sales of such posthumous casts, as well as
unlimited, simple reproductions.
Musée Rodin’s moral rights apply only within French jurisdictions, and only
in very limited circumstances. They do not impinge on the public domain
status of Rodin’s works, nor on the public’s right to freely copy them, even
within France.
Wenman believes that museums, art galleries and private collectors around the
world should make 3D scans of important public domain works and release them
freely, thereby becoming “engines of new cultural creation”. The Musée Rodin
disagrees, presumably because it is concerned that its monopoly on “original”
posthumous casts might be devalued. As a result, it has been fighting for some
years Wenman’s efforts to obtain the museum’s 3D scans of Rodin’s works through
the courts."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
