Rodin Museum Forced to Publish 3D Scans of Artworks (?)

March 9 2021

Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:

Some interesting news in the Italian art press today (spotted via. @Boro_PR). The Rodin Museum in Paris may be forced to publish 3D scans of its artworks on Open Source.

This is due to the legal action of Cosmo Wenman, an operator of the reproductions market and activist for the free circulation of reproduction rights. He has been pursuing the museum to make their scans open access citing particular aspects of French law that make Administrative Documents Accessible to the public. However, the museum has refuted the claims that their 3D scans should be included in such freedom of information requests.

Wenman has publicly stated that if he wins the case, he intends to publish all of the scans online. This will allow anyone with a 3D printer to make an exact copy of a Rodin sculpture in their own homes. In contrast, some experts have spoken out against this potentially damaging result, which would inevitably lead to financial losses at the museum it is claimed.

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