New U of Manitoba law clinic offers artists free help with copyright, contracts and other legal issues

Lawyers and law students at the University of Manitoba are hoping to make the law a little less confusing for local artists.

Earlier this month, the U of M launched the Manitoba Legal Clinic for the Arts, a virtual legal service that offers free legal information to artists and arts organizations.

"The law can be very daunting for people," said Emily Palmer, a second-year law student who is helping with the clinic.

"There's a lot of need for artists to understand their legal protections and their legal rights."

The clinic, staffed by law students and professors at U of M's law faculty, equips artists with a "legal dictionary" that helps them better understand the protections they have for their work, Palmer said.

Kassie Taverner, another second-year law student who works with the clinic, said there are a variety of reasons why artists might need the service.

"Being an artist sometimes means being a business," she said in an interview with CBC Radio's Up to Speed on Wednesday.

That means artists might have all kinds of questions about their artwork, said Taverner, "like, 'Oh, I've completed this commissioned piece of work, what rights do I have … to it? How am I and my work being protected?'"

"Or, 'My work is going to be displayed at this gallery for this exhibition — what is the gallery making me sign?'"

The clinic also aims to overcome financial barriers artists may face, Taverner said.

"Many artists are at or below the poverty line, so … there's this major access issue for legal services."

The clinic helps artists navigate anything from copyright and contracts to protecting their work on social media, Taverner said.

One group of artists Taverner and Palmer said the clinic hopes to reach are those who live in northern Manitoba, where there's a lot of art being made but less access to legal services.

Over the summer, the two attended a trade show in Winnipeg hosted by the Northern Association of Community Councils — an advocacy organization for northern Manitoba communities — where they spoke with artists from the region to help understand their needs.