Research
After 'Bridgeman': Copyright, Museums, and Public Domain Works of Art
Type: Journal Article
Author
Robin J. Allan
Description
This case comment argues that the Bridgeman v. Corel Corp decision was incorrect: the interpretation of the originality requirement was misjudged in two ways, being both too 'broad' with the sweat of the brow doctrine, and too 'narrow' with the level of creativity required.
Date
2007 April 01
Abstract
The abstract provided by the author(s) of this work is as follows:
Part I of this Comment describes the Bridgeman decisions themselves. Part II examines the history of American copyright law and the idea of the public domain, and explores the historical roots of the originality requirement and the copyrightability of photographs. Part III addresses the Bridgeman court’s interpretation of the originality requirement, its dismissal of Bridgeman’s arguments, and the prospect of a post-Bridgeman world in which museums rely on contract remedies, rather than copyright, to the detriment of the public. This Comment suggests that the Bridgeman decision should not be a model for other courts: following this decision would foster an inaccurate analysis of the originality requirement, draw revenue away from museums, discourage the creation of high-quality reproductions, and, most importantly, diminish the rights of viewers through increasingly constrained contracts of adhesion. The law and the public would both suffer if the ideas in the Bridgeman decision were widely adopted.
Publisher
University of Pennsylvania
Institution
University of Pennsylvania
Journal Title
University of Pennsylvania Law Review
Volume
155
Issue Number
4
Pages (from-to)
961-989
ISSN
0041-9907
Jurisdiction
United States
Language
ENG
Size
221 KB, 29 pp.
Copyright Information
In Copyright
Rights and Reuse
All Rights Reserved
DOI
10.2307/40041330
Cortex Citation:
Robin J. Allan, “After 'Bridgeman': Copyright, Museums, and Public Domain Works of Art,” Copyright Cortex, accessed October 18, 2026, https://copyright-cortex.org/research/after-bridgeman-copyright-museums-public-domain-works-of-art.
Robin J. Allan, “After 'Bridgeman': Copyright, Museums, and Public Domain Works of Art,” Copyright Cortex, accessed October 18, 2026, https://copyright-cortex.org/research/after-bridgeman-copyright-museums-public-domain-works-of-art.