Hergé's heirs sue artist over his Tintin/Edward Hopper mashups

[Claude J Greengrass]

Xavier Marabout has been accused in a French court of ‘taking advantage of the reputation of a character to immerse him in an erotic universe’

 

[RobinZ]

Good.

 

[Artyczar]

Interesting...what is the line between parody/appropriation and stealing/copyright infringement? Maybe this has crossed that line. Who/what creates the line though?

 

[stlukesguild]

Not good. Imagine the truncated history of art if all the characters from the Bible, Shakespeare, other works of literature, etc... were off-limits to artists. This case would largely be thrown out in the US on the basis that it would fall under the protection of "fair use" laws which allow artists to employ characters and other works of art for social commentary and satire. Think MAD Magazine.

 

[brianvds]

Not good. Imagine the truncated history of art if all the characters from the Bible, Shakespeare, other works of literature, etc... were off-limits to artists. This case would largely be thrown out in the US on the basis that it would fall under the protection of "fair use" laws which allow artists to employ characters and other works of art for social commentary and satire. Think MAD Magazine.

The Hergé people are obsessively protective of his creations; in the long run they are shooting themselves, and his legacy, in the foot.

 

[RobinZ]

I support copyrights for artists and their families.

 

[stlukesguild]

These copyrights rarely support individual artists but rather large corporations such as Disney, Marvel, etc...

 

[brianvds]

These copyrights rarely support individual artists but rather large corporations such as Disney, Marvel, etc...

Particularly when the artist is dead and no longer need any support.
I don't have a big problem with copyright as such, but over time it has turned into another corporate monster. Anyway, it is now beginning to go away, whether that's a good thing or not, because of the web. Companies and individuals will have no choice but to adapt.