We started the morning with class, where we discussed trademarks and artists’ different rights. I have taken an intellectual property law class in the past, so I had a general idea of what trademarks consisted of, but I had never discussed them in an artistic setting. I knew many artists signed their paintings or painted in such a way that their style was recognized, but I was unaware that artists could obtain protection for their work because of their style or signature.

We went onto discuss VARA (Visual Artists Rights Act), which only applies to certain visual works, but not all. VARA has many standards that a piece of art must meet in order to qualify for protection.

We discussed the organization and structure of museums, the Uffizi Gallery specifically, since we visited there yesterday. We discussed how not only our tour guide, Viola, but also apparently many Italians were surprised a German was appointed director of the Uffizi, an Italian museum. Evidently, this director was a new step for many not only in the museum world, but also in the art world in general. However, our class discussed several different aspects of the Uffizi and artists’ moral rights, which I was unaware of before this class. Professor Carpenter ​then discussed the moral rights of artists, which are much more prominent in Europe than in the United States.

Overall, I believe it was a very informative class and helped explain what rights artists who do not have a registered mark or copyright actually have. I was surprised to learn an artist has the right to simply decide whether their works could be altered or destroyed once sold or given to another individual.