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DSM article 20, the absurd new law that prompted this, allows authors to claim payment _beyond what they agreed to in their contract_. Even so, the sculptor's
by throwaway3641 3y ago
DSM article 20, the absurd new law that prompted this, allows authors to claim payment _beyond what they agreed to in their contract_.
Even so, the sculptor's greed here is stunning. She want to loot _decades_ of royalties.
- defrost 3y agoThere's a strong argument that Kosta Boda knowingly cheated her out of lifetime+75 years copyright: “A major change in the Swedish copyright law in 1961 meant that works of applied arts have since enjoyed the same copyright protection as other works, today lasting for 70 years after the death of the author,” said Katarina Renman Claesson, a lawyer for KRO who is advising Wolff’s lawsuit. “Yet even though Ann Wolff signed her contract with Kosta Boda in 1972, the company argues that the pre-1960 law applies in this case.” "Loot" is rather strong when she is seeking a low (in terms of royalties enjoyed by others) sum of €1m from a company with a yearly turnover of €806m in 2022.
- throwaway3641 3y agoIf her position was simply that she still has copyright, then getting a new deal with Kosta Boda would be straightforward. That's something she could have done at any point in the last 40 years. The company even made her such an offer, for double the original royalty plus a lump sum, which she rejected. The article is pretty explicit that her intent is to use the new law to rewrite the original agreement: > It wasn’t until Wolff read about a change in Swedish copyright law at the start of this year that she came up with the idea of approaching the manufacturer about retrospective pay for her design. >"Loot" is rather strong when she is seeking a low (in terms of royalties enjoyed by others) sum of €1m Which candle holder designers are taking in royalties that make €1m look "low"?
- defrost 3y agoThe less needlessly denigrating question would be : Which glass designers are taking in royalties that make €1m look "low"? The answer, contained within the article is: According to her lawyer’s estimates, the sculptor would have earned between 10m and 15m krona if she had continued to received 2% in royalties on every one of the 15m snowball lanterns sold, which would still have been a relatively low cut by contemporary standards. Ergo: Any contemporay designer of a long standing popular item who receives a contemporary cut. Kosta Boda glass is collectable (to some) and popular items turn quite a profit.
- throwaway3641 3y agoJust saying "it's low" again is no answer. Which designers are making this higher royalty? The other ones working for Kosta Boda? Ones at other companies? Other industries? Convenient imaginary ones?
- defrost 3y ago[flagged]