NYC Gallery Sold an AI-Generated Ansel Adams Photo Without Permission

[Coventina]

6. Agree, copyright law can be complicated, and there are exceptions.

I know this because I'm an art historian and I deal with images and their copyright status all the time.

That being said, I am NOT a law expert, and there might be some exceptions at work that I'm not aware of.

HOWEVER, what I have been told is that copyright is AUTOMATIC, and does NOT require a renewal until the automatic one is up. So I have no idea why Wikipedia thinks it would have to have been renewed in the late 60s-70. Without an explanation as to why that should be so, I would be very skeptical.

Besides "public domain" there is such a thing as "fair use" for educational and other limited uses. However, selling a work for profit would NOT be covered by "fair use."

Without more details that justify this use, I would say the art gallery and their lawyer is in the wrong.