Permissions, a survival guide : blunt talk about art as intellectual property

We cite from the cover : / "If a picture is worth a thousand words, then it's a good bet that at least half of those words relate to the picture's copyright status. Art historians, editors, artists, and anyone who wants to use the images of others will find themselves awash in byzantine legal terms, constantly evolving copyright law, varying interpretations by museums and estates, and despair over the complexity of the whole situation. Here, on a white — not a high — horse, Susan M. Bielstein offers insights growing out of decades of experience as an editor working with illustrated books. In doing so, she unsnarls the threads of permissions that have ensnared scholars, critics, and artists for years.
Organized as a series of "takes" that range from short sidebars to extended discussions, Permissions, A Survival Guide explores intellectual property law as it pertains to visual imagery. Bielstein discusses the many uncertainties that plague writers who work with images in this highly visual age, and she does so based on her years navigating precisely these issues. As an editor who has hired a photographer to shoot an incredibly obscure work in the Italian mountains (a plan that backfired hilariously), who has tried to reason with artists' estates in languages she doesn't speak, and who has spent her time in the archival trenches, she offers a snappy and humane guide to this difficult terrain. Filled with anecdotes, asides, and real courage, Permissions, A Survival Guide is a unique handbook that anyone working in the visual arts will find invaluable, if not indispensable."
Contents : -/ "Permissions, a love story -- An admission -- Bleeding dollars and euros and pounds and yen -- What is copyright? -- The copy trade and the public domain -- The forbidden image : museums and an empire of signs -- Those toes : privacy woes and the Duchess of York -- Monks in farawya places, or Latin lives! -- Fair use -- Doing and saying whatever it takes in the name of scholarship -- A society of ownership : see America -- A supplicant's manifesto -- What did it cost? a summary of fees for this book."