In 2022, five works of art by the authors Miquel Barceló, Joan Miró and Antoni Tàpies were exhibited, said works were property of GRUPO MANGO (Punta NA, S.A.). The exhibition happened, amongst other, in the metaverse in the form of NFTs.
In light of this, the collective management organization VEGAP sued GRUPO MANGO for copyright infringement.
The conflict centered on whether MANGO, as the owner of the artworks in their original physical formats, could exercise an absolute right of use and exploitation in any form and modality, including their transformation into NFTs.
On the first instance, the Commercial Court No. 9 of Barcelona ruled in favor of GRUPO MANGO, denying copyright infringement, mainly due to the following:
- The acquisition of artworks, in accordance with Article 56.2 of the Spanish Copyrights Act, grants the owner the right to exhibit a plastic artwork, a circumstance that must be considered and balanced against the right of public communication.
- The right of transformation was neither breached taking into consideration – exceptionally – the doctrine of fair use, which is of American origin. The foregoing was heavily criticized insofar as this figure is not part of the Spanish legal system, which establishes a system of numerus clausus exceptions.
All in all, the court concluded uses by GRUPO MANGO were not infringing given no economic gain was obtained. That despite the fact that the paintings at hand formed an integral part of a strategy designed to commercially promote and position the defendant.
Now, the first instance judgment has been revoked by the Appeal Court of Barcelona, which has concluded that MANGO infringed the copyright on the paintings at hand. In this sense, it is particularly noteworthy that the Court concluded, contrary to what the first instance judgment did, that the American doctrine of “fair use” is not applicable as it is not contemplated in the Spanish law.
We will keep an eye on the possible cassation appeal before the Spanish Supreme Court.
Copyright © 2025 All rights reserved