What Is Art - Toward a Legal Definition

A great number of unresolved issues arise in the relatively new field of art law. The author considers several areas of the law, including copyright, customs, state and federal moral and economic rights statutes, and state consignment statutes in order to develop a legal definition of "art." This Article concludes that this definition depends on who does the defining; however, common threads exist. Some sort of originality on the part of the work is required. Additionally, legislators faced with defining art are consistently concerned with the scope of the definition.

The author believes a definition that attempts to include more than original expressions of creators would impair the diverse interests of those affected.