Who determines which works are linked to the rights' societies? My concern is that VAGA and ARS will claim rights that they do not necessarily have. Not every work by the artists and estates they represent is protected by copyright since many are already in the public domain. In some cases, the museum may have a nonexclusive license from the artist directly, or possibly even a transfer of copyright.

I do not like the idea of reporting to the rights societies the works to which they might possibly have rights. This seems to immediately put the museums in a defensive position. I would prefer that we see their list of artists and estates first, and then it can be up to each museum to decide whether the society has a valid claim or not. For invalid ones, each museum can either argue their position or pull the image.

Annie Brose, National Museum of American Art