Immersive art experiences transform how audiences interact with creativity, and legal experts on Monday discussed how copyright law is protecting these dynamic works of art.
At a South by Southwest session, two legal experts explored the complexities of copyright in immersive, interactive art installations worldwide.
The immersive art industry, which includes Meow Wolf, teamLab, Van Gogh and Monet immersive art shows, is expected to generate $144 billion in revenue in 2025 and grow to $412.7 billion by 2030, according to Mordor Intelligence, a market research firm. It reports that the major market players are teamLab, Meow Wolf, Secret Cinema and Culturespaces
“Copyright does not require a work to be static or frozen to be fixed,” said Ben Allison, managing partner of Bardacke Allison Miller in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
He mentioned a 2023 case, Tangle Inc. v. Aritzia Inc., in which the court recently held that copyright protection extends to kinetic objects that can be manipulated. The case involved Tangle, a toy maker, that created a sculpture that can be twisted into various shapes, suing Aritzia, a store that used sculptures similar to the toy in its displays.
“Ballet is copyrightable, symphonies are copyrightable,” Allison said. “The fact that that environment is shape-shifting and movable with the wisdom of the user does not erase the fact that it is fixed in this tangible … medium of expression.”
Breanna Contreras, vice president of Legal for Meow Wolf Inc. in Santa Fe, New Mexico, said interactive and changeable works can receive copyright protection despite their dynamic nature. She cited the court in the teamLab vs. Museum of Dream Space case, which determined that immersive art installations with interactive elements are entitled to copyright protection based on the fixed elements and creative choices, even if the user experience varies.
In that case, Contreras said teamLab, a Japanese company, prevailed in enforcing its copyright against Museum of Dream Space because of the creative and original nature of its digital artwork pieces and the evidence that the museum copied them.
Contreras also discussed the Berne Convention, an international agreement that standardizes basic copyright protections across member countries. It stipulates that content creators don’t need to register their work in every country to receive protection. Instead, under the Berne Convention, copyright should be automatically recognized internationally.
Meow Wolf imagines and creates new immersive worlds. Contreras said Meow Wolf has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in London against Wake the Tiger, a London-based immersive artwork creator. Meow Wolf, which has five locations in the U.S., claims Wake the Tiger stole its artwork. In a BBC story, Wake the Tiger has denied the claims.
Contreras said more copyright lawsuits involving immersive environments will hit the courts in the coming years.
The panelists explained that work created entirely by AI is not eligible for copyright protection and only human authorship qualifies.
“An inanimate object or an animal is incapable of creating a copyright,” Contreras said.
So, Contreras said, artists and creators using AI platforms need to be transparent about their use of AI when registering for a copyright. Failing to disclose AI involvement could invalidate a registration, she said.
Couple of things here. If you blinked at the claim that the “immersive art industry” is “expected to generate $144 billion in revenue in 2025 and grow to $412.7 billion by 2030”, you’re not alone. Turns out, that Mordor study is about the Immersive Entertainment industry, which according to them includes VR and AR gaming, among other things. That makes a lot more sense to me. All due respect to immersive art, but that’s a lotta money.
On that front, I will note that Meow Wolf exists in Houston and is on our short list of places to visit soon. I’ve actually gotten a bunch of press releases from them about various openings and exhibits but haven’t had the chance to try them out yet. My wife and I did visit ARTECHOUSE, which is in the Heights near MKT. It was cool, we enjoyed it, we’ll visit again when there’s a new exhibit. Houston now has a few of these immersive art places, all pretty recent additions to the scene. CityCast Houston reviewed four of them, including Meow Wolf and ARTECHOUSE, if this intrigues you.
Anyway, this caught my eye, and if that prediction comes true I’m sure there will be some cases of interest for me to follow. I do enjoy a novel lawsuit.