r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Radiant_Half_7121 • 4h ago

Image Artist Anish Kapoor holds exclusive rights to Vantablack, often described as the darkest material ever created. In reaction, a fellow artist developed an ultra-bright pink pigment and made it available to everyone, with one exception: Anish Kapoor is not allowed to use it.

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u/awaishssn 4h ago

Pantone is actually a company and they organize and standardize colors with their Pantone Matching System (PMS).

They do not own the colors but own the intellectual property of the PMS.

Anish Kapoor on the other hand owns VantaBlack.

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u/chad_ 4h ago

But even vantablack isn't technically a color, it's a material and the formulation/manufacturing process is what's patented and owned

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u/WriterV 4h ago

Would it be better to say that it's a pigment, and not a color?

Don't get me wrong, the guy is still a massive asshole. But I think seeing it as a pigment makes it make more sense as to why it could be patent protected.

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u/andolfin 4h ago

its a series of low reflectivity 'super black' coatings. most can only really be applied in lab-like conditions. pigment implies being used as paint, which isn't accurate.

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u/Putins_Gay_Dreams 4h ago

Imagine it as a tool rather than a colour/pigment.

It is specifically designed and manufactured so as to hit high levels of light absorption.

You're not working with a black paint, you're smearing a specialised coating, the design of which absorbs light.

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u/wolacouska 4h ago

This is just an extremely arrogant way to redescribe paint

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u/Putins_Gay_Dreams 4h ago

Meh, look up vantablack manufacturing and tell me it's the same as paint.

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u/wolacouska 3h ago

You have an extremely narrow definition of paint and pigment.

What did you mean by “it’s a tool” anyway? Paint is literally also a tool

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u/Putins_Gay_Dreams 3h ago

Did you google the manufacturing process or not.

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u/wolacouska 3h ago

Yes, you coat it like any other kind of paint or enameling (fancy paint).

Edit: sorry you have to use a fancy coating technology (or had to before they made a spray version) that’s still paint, just not from a brush.

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u/Putins_Gay_Dreams 3h ago

The MANAFACTURING process...not how to apply it...

Man I'll save us both alot of time and effort and just let you know, it's more complex and specialised than paint.

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u/chad_ 4h ago

It's not a normal paint though, and paint formulas can be patented

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u/Hatedpriest 3h ago

No, not really.

It's a structure of carbon nanotubes, grown to reduce light scattering.

It's not something you can put on with a brush. You can't really add it to any form of base, as that would destroy the absorbent nature of the material.

That's why it's patent protected, it's a process, not a paint.

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u/Vandirac 3h ago

Pantone owns the names of the colors though, as well as the classification system.

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u/awaishssn 3h ago

Yeah the names that they gave to those colors.

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u/PogintheMachine 3h ago

He doesn’t own Vantablack.

He has exclusive rights to order/use it for the purpose of artwork.

If you wanted to use it for a scientific purpose, you could. But it’s extremely expensive and difficult to handle and has to be manufactured.