What were the key issues and implications of the Bridgeman v. Corel case?
• The case and its implications for museums and galleries are summarised on the Museums Copyright Group website (http://www.museumscopyright.org.uk/bridge.htm) • Additionally, it is important to stress that the Prosecution’s case was fundamentally flawed because, from the start, they conceded that the clip art images were “slavish” copies. This admittance undermined their own case, since skill and judgement are required in order to competently create a photograph of an art work; • From an American perspective, the case cannot be relied upon – it is more of a “flash in the pan”. Prior to the case, digitised images were rejected for copyright protection by the US Copyright Office. However, subsequently they have been afforded copyright protected, particularly as compilations.
