It’s hard to believe that one of the greatest performance artists alive could have completed only six works in the span of his 21 year career. But Tehching Hsieh isn’t your average artist.

Good interview with Tehching Hsieh here.

The Philadelphia Phillies are battling with Harrison/Erickson Inc., which sold the rights to the Phillie Phanatic costume in 1978 and renegotiated its deal in 1984. Harrison/Erickson initiated a reclaim bid under a Copyright Act provision that allows creators to reacquire their creations 35 years after inception regardless of prior contracts. The fight could add to sparse case law around the termination rights language, which took effect in 1978.

Big news. Probably the biggest moral rights news since the Mass MoCA v. Christoph Buchel case back in 2010 (does anyone remember?).

2nd Circuit rules that plaintiff graffiti artists should get their $6.75M in damages that the lower court originally granted. Big news? I think so. And I think developers, in fact, any commissioning party commissioning an art work by an artist should be processing right about now.

Donn Zaretsky seems to agree, “But the idea that significant statutory damages can be awarded in a VARA case even where actual damages can’t be proven could be a big deal.”

What’s the probability that this case will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court? That I don’t know, but I do know that this is one case that I’d love to see the Supremes take up and either uphold or swat back. The reasoning–and politics–would certainly be worth a read.

Also worth a read is why 2nd Circuit Judge Barrington D. Parker Jr. decided to edit his comments on Claude Monet. Seems that even slight criticism–even of the positive kind–upsets some art snowflakes.

The British Art Market Federation has released guidelines addressing the new anti-money laundering requirements in the UK.

Here’s how some galleries are dealing with these new regulations.

According to Georgina Adam, “They fall into three categories, the main one being funding.”

New York art dealer Robert Blumenthal is suing artist Derek Fordjour for $1.45m, according to court documents filed in a New York supreme court on Tuesday.

More here.

Outside the auction rooms, Banksy uses nondisclosure agreements and trademark law to maintain his anonymity and the singularity of his creative vision. The fact that his identity has yet to be definitively revealed is a testament to his team’s corporate discipline.

“[Banksy] gets everyone who works on projects like ‘Dismaland’ to sign N.D.A.s so that everything is kept confidential,” Enrico Bonadio, a senior lecturer in law at City University in London, said. “He employs a lot of lawyers.”

By no means am I saying there’s anything wrong with that.

More here.