An Interview with Abbey Greene, Christie's

• Pages: 7-8

Published in Landslide® magazine, Volume 10, Number 2, a publication of the ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law (ABA-IPL), ©2017 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This

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Abbey Green has been practicing intellectual property law

with a focus on arts and entertainment for over 17 years.

Ms. Green joined Christie’s in March 2014 as global copy-

right manager, where she works closely with their specialist

departments, marketing, and content teams globally to over-

see the rights and permissions process throughout Christie’s.

She manages the licensing of content, both inbound and

outbound, enforces Christie’s various intellectual property

rights, and works closely with our disputes team in the reso-

lution of intellectual property disputes.

Please tell us a little about Christie’s and its importance to

the arts and culture in our global society.

James Christie founded the auction house in 1766. Today,

Christie’s is an auction leader with a truly global presence,

including numerous salerooms around the world. Christie’s has

conducted celebrated auctions of ne and decorative arts, jew-

elry, antiquities, watches, and wine, and provides a popular

showcase for the unique and the beautiful. Some of the rar-

est and most valuable works of art in the world are handled by

Christie’s, and we view ourselves as careful stewards of these

objects as they are passed down from one collection to the next.

What was your career path and how has it prepared you for

your current role?

I began my career with a small intellectual property (IP)

boutique rm in New York City, where I became immersed

in copyrights, trademarks, patents, and all things related

thereto. Our clients included comic book writers, toy makers,

sports gures, lm producers, and tech companies, as well as

global industrial companies. I was given a lot of responsibil-

ity very early on, such as managing a dispute over the rights

to a famous literary and movie character, and drafting a peti-

tion for certiorari to the Supreme Court in a patent matter, all

of which helped to build my communication and managerial

skills as well as my legal skills.

From there, I found myself at both large and small rms

focusing on arts and entertainment, but also engaged in a

wide array of complex transactions and litigations. For me,

the most interesting legal issues have always been why, when,

and how we should protect human creations.

I also had a role as operations manager of an artist’s foun-

dation, where I learned to truly appreciate the day-to-day

business issues facing the organization, such as property man-

agement and insurance, as well as the concerns of estates and

foundations with respect to artists’ legacies and the art itself.

My role there was a perfect prelude to joining Christie’s.

As global copyright manager, what is a typical day in your

life at work like?

PROFILES IN IP LAW

As global copyright manager, I oversee the rights and per-

missions process, both in connection with Christie’s use of

others’ intellectual property and others’ use of Christie’s

intellectual property. A typical day might include providing

training to our marketing teams, specialist departments, and

copyright coordinators globally; updating guidance materials;

answering queries; drafting licensing agreements, releases,

consents, and the IP provisions of more general agreements;

monitoring trademark and domain registrations; and pre-pub-

lication review of content from Christie’s departments, or

from Christie’s subsidiary businesses, such as Christie’s Edu-

cation and Christie’s International Real Estate.

What are the most challenging and/or rewarding aspects of

your position?

The most challenging aspect of my position is making sure the

various departments can deploy their marketing assets within the

short time frames imposed by the fast-paced nature of the auction

business. Christie’s produces vast amounts of content, from vid-

eos to catalogues—and does so globally. In support of its sales,

it functions as a publishing house, a video production company,

and a digital content and marketing agency. There is always a sale

coming up somewhere at Christie’s, with related deadlines for

promotional content and the licenses and permissions required

to publish that content. Time is often our worst enemy. Still, it is

quite satisfying when we nd a way to make it all happen on time.

What is your favorite part of your job?

I’m deeply passionate about IP rights, and I enjoy sharing

that passion with others. I particularly enjoy training and edu-

cating colleagues at Christie’s. Christie’s team members have

a passion for creation—they are here because of that passion,

whether it is for art, books, furniture, antiquities, jewelry, hand-

bags, wine, or another of the many collecting categories we

handle. There is a clear understanding internally that protecting

the creator’s rights is an extension of appreciating the creation.

What aspects of IP law are encountered by Christie’s?

Our most signicant encounter is with copyright law. By

necessity, our content incorporates quite a bit of artwork,

including paintings, prints, sculptures, and photographs, each

of which is protected by copyrights. We also license our own

content, which is protected by copyrights.

In addition, we often incorporate people in our content,

which requires a review for consents we may need—either

because of privacy or publicity rights concerns.

Trademarks are also signicant for us. We are quite protec-

tive of our trademarks and brands, and we carefully monitor

potentially infringing uses, including in domain names, and

enforce our rights when necessary.

An Interview with Abbey Green

Global Copyright Manager, CHRISTIE’S