It raises interesting questions. I'm not a lawyer, so I know nothing about whether you could get force someone to affirm a work. Seems weird, but I'd be willing to bet it's happened.
My instinct is that a lie doesn't need to be told to create harm in a case like this where significant value depends on whether an important person created the work. Might search for some legal blogs to see if this has been analyzed further.
> if an artist doesn't claim a painting, that should be good enough.
Disagree. While the linked case is indeed ridiculous, I can imagine a scenario where an artist might deny creating a work to harm the work's owner. That's something that clearly falls under tort law and a simple denial shouldn't provide immunity.
If you're mean, there are many ways to make individuals miserable through fringe use of the civil courts. All of it perfectly legal.
My instinct is that a lie doesn't need to be told to create harm in a case like this where significant value depends on whether an important person created the work. Might search for some legal blogs to see if this has been analyzed further.