Who are Alberto Giacometti’s legal beneficiaries?
The moral rights of the artist belong to the Alberto and Annette Giacometti Foundation, to the Berthoud family and to the Alberto Giacometti-Stiftung. The patrimonial rights of the artist Alberto Giacometti are held by:
- the Alberto and Annette Giacometti Foundation (Paris, France), 10/16ths.
- Alberto Giacometti-Stiftiung (Zurich, Switzerland), 3/16ths.
- the Berthoud family, 3/16ths.
- Bruno Giacometti for his part of the artist's resale rights.
When is it necessary to obtain the agreement of the legal beneficiaries?
Any use or exploitation of the work, name and image of Alberto Giacometti, and any adaptation of his work, must have a written authorization from the holders of his rights.
Nota bene: a restoration is not an insignificant act. It engages the right of respect for the work. Supervision by the beneficiaries, or their written agreement, is always preferable.
What do the rights to use or exploit the work of an artist entail?
This is a question, in particular, of the exclusive right to distribute the work among the public and authorize its reproduction, be it by image, publication or any other medium...The right to adapt the work is also involved.
What is the duration of this exclusive right?
From the time when the work is created, the monopoly of its use or exploitation, which lasted throughout the artist’s life in his favour, remains for a further 70 years after his death, exclusively in favour of his legal beneficiaries. Works appearing posthumously enjoy a monopoly of use or exploitation for 70 years after their appearance.
Are there are any obligations imposed on the holder of rights during the period of the exclusive rights?
Yes. Misuse in the exploitation or non-exploitation of the work is sanctioned by the Code of Intellectual Property.
What happens after the exclusive rights of use or exploitation have expired?
70 years after the artist’s death, the work appearing in his lifetime enters the public domain, which means that the reproduction of the original works that have appeared is free, provided that the reproduction respects the right of respect of the name and the work.
What is the right of respect of the name and the work?
The right of respect of the name is the right of authorship, i.e. the right to oblige others to always mention the name of the author of the work when it is made use of or exploited.
The right of respect of the integrity of the work is, in particular, the right to impose on any use or exploitation that it remains faithful to the original model and does not violate its image by any inappropriate use or exploitation.
Involved here are two elements of the artist’s moral rights, which are, where he is concerned, perpetual; they never expire. Even after the work has entered the public domain, these rights make it possible to control, for example, the fidelity to the original model, or the respect of the material of reproduction desired by the artist. They also make it possible to control the name under which the work is distributed.
A REVIEW OF THE IMPORTANT DECISIONS OF JUSTICE :
On 6 July 2000, the French Cour de cassation definitively judged that Annette Giacometti did not bequeath control of the moral rights by testament to Mrs. Mary-Lisa Palmer.
On 27 March 2007, the Cour de Cassation definitively confirmed the inadmissibility of the Association Alberto & Annette Giacometti's request to claim damages as a civil plaintiff in the context of penal procedures, by specifying that the Association was not the owner of any moral or proprietary rights over the artist's work and therefore could not claim any personal or direct damage from the existence of a counterfeit Giacometti work.
As a consequence, the Association can no longer claim to be entitled to protect the rights of Alberto Giacometti, in particular in the case of forgeries.
Only the undivided holders of the moral and proprietary rights, among which the Alberto & Annette Giacometti Foundation, have the right to ensure the protection of the artist's work, in particular by prosecuting the authors of forgeries and counterfeit works, as well as by acts of seizure.
The undivided holders are also the only legal entities with the rights to promote and release the works of Alberto Giacometti, and in particular to authorize new sculpture castings.