Hedi has NO affiliation with the coin presented in the the following link posted to another forum on this site (http://sbss.opencurrency.com/retire...4-sbss-arise-freedom-girl-proof-numbered.html) The company is selling a product which attempts to emulate her work, and piggyback on her success. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that this is a copyright infringement I will not support any company selling versions of her work without her permission. There is a thread on Modern Coin Forum by the Sculptress of the Original Freedom Girl , Heidi Wastweet . ( http://www.moderncoinmart.com/forum/threads/official-ask-heidi-wastweet-thread.2521/ ) I believe she has been involved with the design and/or sculpture of more than 1000 coins/medals/rounds/tokens. Here is a link from her website of a select few of those commissioned (http://www.wastweetstudio.com/commission_medals.html ). Cheers, Luker
What a cluster F! I wouldn't touch these of Duane's with a 10 foot pole. I hope C.D. wins the lawsuit. But what mess
Heidi was commissioned to do a project, generally once the project is completed any copyrights are transferred to the company/person that commissioned the project. The issue is determining who actually owns that copyright, Chris Duane or Rob Gray.
I believe the issue regards the "altering" of her original design, as she mentions in her posts... " It's unfortunate that too many people don't understand that purchasing a work of art, even a commissioned work, does not entitle you to full copyrights without a contract specifically doing so. It is NOT ok to alter, even slightly the original work. That is infringement." I would imagine that having been involved in the industry for 20+ years, that she is well-versed in these matters... and she further alludes to moral integrity rights which are (according to Wikepedia) : "Moral rights are rights of creators of copyrighted works generally recognized in civil law jurisdictions and, to a lesser extent, in some common law jurisdictions. They include the right of attribution, the right to have a work published anonymously or pseudonymously, and the right to the integrity of the work.[1] The preserving of the integrity of the work bars the work from alteration, distortion, or mutilation. Anything else that may detract from the artist's relationship with the work even after it leaves the artist's possession or ownership may bring these moral rights into play. Moral rights are distinct from any economic rights tied to copyrights. Even if an artist has assigned his or her copyright rights to a work to a third party, he or she still maintains the moral rights to the work.[2]" Cheers, Luker
Isn't the SBSS brand not owned by CD? If true, that would give legal right for the owner to use artwork designed for the SBSS brand....like FreedomGirl, no? Regardless, Wastweet's work is excellent and I'm glad she's a member of the CCAC in the US...we coin enthusiasts benefit from her input. .
The thinking that copyright ownership is automatically granted to the client is a problem for many artists. That is why it is important for both parties to have a contract in place which stipulates which rights are assigned to the client. Generally for artistic works, the client pays for a license and does not assume any rights not explicitly assigned to them. Moral rights have more weight here in Australia than they do in the USA. Also in the USA there is such a thing as a "work for hire" agreement where the client does own the copyright of any work completed under that agreement. We can only speculate as to what was in the contract (or if there was one).
