Professor Sue Liemer shared insights into the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 and how an artist's "moral rights" may protect his or her public work from removal or destruction.
The director of Elon Law’s Legal Method & Communication Program, whose scholarly interests have led to law journal articles and a forthcoming book chapter on the legal rights of artists, spoke with BloombergLaw for a report on the growing number of artists using the court system to seek protection of their public work or compensation after its destruction.
Professor Sue Liemer was quoted in “Activist Artists Cite Novel N.Y. Win to Sue Over Threats to Work,” which explains how a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has provided a roadmap for artists whose “moral rights” are violated when developers remove longstanding work with “recognized stature.”
“Now, both artists and their lawyers have guidance on a previously obscure statute and a template to follow for potential success,” Liemer told journalist Blake Brittain. Liemer also noted how laws differ between nations on what is meant by “moral rights.”
“Artist moral rights definitely align with social justice goals,” Liemer said. “Depending on the specific wording of a country’s legislation, moral rights can protect artists’ creative processes and decisions, protect the society’s interest in the creative work, and preserve the cultural patrimony.”
Liemer joined the Elon Law faculty in 2017 after directing the Lawyering Skills Program at Southern Illinois University School of Law. She served from 1998-2000 as president of the Association of Legal Writing Directors and served a four-year term on the Board of Directors of the Legal Writing Institute.
She also created and co-edited the Legal Writing Professors’ Blog, which has twice been listed in the ABA Journal’s top law blogs.