ABSTRACT
This chapter explores traditional copyright law. It shows that while fewer mid-century pictorial works might be subject to copyright in the US than is regularly assumed, for those works that are covered by copyright, there is no express statutory exemption to shelter adaptations for persons with a visual impairment. Copyright law and analysis in the United States is predominantly governed by the Copyright Act of 1976. The United States remains a jurisdiction with relatively weak moral rights protections, having long conceived of and justified copyright law as an economic right. The just-described liability exception applies both to rights of attribution and integrity. Derivative copyrights are more likely to be found where the renderer can point to particular expressive choices made in the adaptation process. The chapter concludes by proposing and arguing in favor of adopting a clear safe harbor for visual art adaptations that parallels the one in place for literary works.
