A painting is a kind of the artistic work. When someone bought a painting, he/she merely obtains the ownership of the painting instead of the copyright thereof. Therefore, the copyright still belongs to the person who creates the painting.
If a person bought some original paintings, printed and bound them as a book, and then sold the book to the public, he/she infringes the rights of reproduction and distribution of the copyright owners thereof, except that he/she has obtained the license or consent from the copyright owners or his/her acts conform to the fair use as stipulated in Articles 44 to 65 of Copyright Act.
On the other hand, if the person holds an art exhibition with those original paintings which he/she collected, it may not constitute infringement of the rights of the copyright owners thereof even though “public display” is also a kind of right belonging to the copyright owners. The reason is that according to Article 57 of Copyright Act, the owner of the original legal copy of an artistic work or photographic work, or a person authorized by the owner, may publicly display such original or legal copy of the work. Therefore, the act to exhibit the original paintings someone collects will not infringe the copyrights.
Source: TIPO Newsletter issued on November 05, 2013
http://www.tipo.gov.tw/public/epaper/113/ePaper113_ep7720.htm
Delivered by: JAW-HWA INTERNATIONAL PATENT & TRADEMARK & LAWOFFICES
TAIPEI, TAIWAN
http://www.jaw-hwa.com.tw
