Who is the author of a work? Legal Boundaries of Authorship

Creating is no longer always a solitary act. In contemporary art, creation is sometimes negotiation, collaboration or delegation. But when conflict arises, the law demands a clear answer: who is the author?

This session explores one of the most complex questions that art poses to the law: when does execution cease to be mere execution and become creation? Can a technician, a performer or a producer claim authorship of a work? Where does the law draw the line between the conceiver and the executor? When does a contribution make you an author?

To answer these questions, the session will draw on rulings from Spanish courts that have had to decide precisely within that blurred territory where commission meets creation. Specific cases, conflicting criteria, decisions that reveal as much about the law as they do about art.

Originality, creative contribution, control over the work, autonomy or dependence: are these criteria sufficient to capture what it means to create today?

A critical reflection, grounded in case law, on the limits of the concept of authorship in a world where creation is, at times, a collective endeavour.

Additional information

Limited places are available and will be assigned by registration only.