About the exhibition and the following seminar
Attorney and conceptual artist Guido Kucsko, Schönherr Rechtsanwalte, Vienna, holds an exhibition by the columns in front of the University’s Aula. The exhibition is followed by a seminar, titled ‘Protecting Ideas’ where Kucsko will discuss copyright and artistic aspects with ideas and legal protection of ideas, reflecting upon issues such as:
«We are always looking out for the next imaginative product idea – a must have, the next impressive start-up based on a genius idea worth millions of dollars, the new band rocketing up the charts, exceptional ideas to solve our need for clean energy, ideas for stopping climate change, ideas for improved politics, ideas to save the world.
It is wonderful that mankind, everyone of us, is an unceasing reactor producing ideas daily, from what to do after the alarm clock rings, to great ideas/deductions of a scientist after years of dedicated research, managers‘ marketing ideas, new designs to appeal to consumers, a plot for a film, an abstract painting, the list goes on...
But do we still have a common understanding of what belongs to whom? Do the old legal systems dating back to the 19th century still meet today‘s needs? Society has a simple choice: To protect an idea to an author´s benefit, granting her or him exclusive Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in her or his idea. Or to accept an indisputable demand of the public to have free access to that idea. What is the threshold for granting IP protection? And which kind of ideas should be exempt from any monopoly granted by legislation to its creator? The answer has to be a well-balanced system. But that is a system that is becoming more and more sophisticated. And we are challenged again and again, to adjust this complex system.»
Please note
The exhibition will be installed on Domus Media in the morning of April 18th, and will be available to visit throughout the day.
The seminar will take place in Auditorium 13, starting at 15:15. The seminar will be held in English, and everyone with an interest in art, and intellectual property more broadly, is encouraged to participate - knowledge of the legal aspects of IP is not a prerequisite.
P.S. There is a limited number of seats for the seminar, and they will be distributed on a first come, first served basis.
About Guido Kucsko
Guido Kucsko is an Austrian conceptual artist and lawyer living and working in Vienna. In his work as an artist, he concentrates on the principal issues of creative action. As a lawyer, he is specialized in intellectual property law, a subject he also teaches as an honorary professor at the University of Vienna.
His mostly site-specific installations have been on view at, among other places, the Albertina Museum, the Sigmund Freud Museum and the International Wittgenstein Symposium.