Courtesy of National Radio Morning Report - 2005-11-07

Presenter (Sean Plunket): An Auckland artist is about to take a major clothing retailer to court in what is a test case for the copyright of public artwork. John Radford alleges that last summer Hallensteins began selling T-shirts with images of his Ponsonby 'Tip' sculptures on them. The works of art were paid for by a private benefactor then gifted to the city and they now sit partially embedded in a park on Ponsonby Road. Kiri Ennis with this report.

Image: DOO, the third sculpture in the TIP installation. Copyright John Radford 2005.
Courtesy of National Radio Morning Report - 2005-11-07

Presenter (Sean Plunket): An Auckland artist is about to take a major clothing retailer to court in what is a test case for the copyright of public artwork. John Radford alleges that last summer Hallensteins began selling T-shirts with images of his Ponsonby 'Tip' sculptures on them. The works of art were paid for by a private benefactor then gifted to the city and they now sit partially embedded in a park on Ponsonby Road. Kiri Ennis with this report.

Image: DOO, the third sculpture in the TIP installation. Copyright John Radford 2005.
John Radford (Artist): There's three chunks of architecture sticking up out of the ground. They stick out to a height of about two metres high, they're quite sizable, they're concrete, they're based on three actual buildings that were knocked down in the city in the crazy building boom of the 80s.

Reporter (Kiri Ennis): John Radford claims Hallensteins took photos of his sculpture at Western Park and sold T-shirts with the images on for 16.95 at outlets throughout the country. He says Hallensteins never asked for consent to use the artwork and believes the copyright to it belongs to him.

Radford: Before these works were built and installed here in Western Park I had the benefactor sign a letter agreeing that I owned the copyright. Also from the Mayor of the city, Les Mills, at the time, I got a letter acknowledging that I owned the copyright so this is all before the works are placed in the park.

Reporter: Now after a flurry of letters and meetings to try and reach an out of court settlement Mr Radford is due to file court action against Hallensteins. His barrister Peter Andrew says there are few legal precedents so it'll be something of a test case for public works of art.

Peter Andrew (Barrister): We say that the creation of this T-shirt, the graphic work, was a derogatory treatment of Mr Radford's artistic work, was a distortion of his work prejudicial to his honour and reputation and he has suffered damage as a result so we're alleging breach of his economic rights as well and seeking an account of the profits or alternatively compensatory damages.

Reporter: Mr Radford is seeking $150,000 in damages and further costs based on the profits Hallensteins made from the T-shirts. The owner of Whitespace, a gallery near Ponsonby Road, is Deborah White. She says copyright breaches of the visual arts are on the rise and have serious implications for artists.

Deborah White (Gallery Director): Well it obviously devalues the work and one of the hardest things for any artist is to put a price tag on what they do and for the most part you have a range of creative people trying to make a living out of their arts practise, they have to protect their copyright and the value of their work very carefully and anything that undermines it can really ruin their income and their livelihood.

Reporter: John Radford says in his case the value of a limited number of bronze miniatures of the sculptures is now in doubt.

Radford: Future sales of these bronze miniatures are seriously threatened and devalued by the works appearing on these cheap discount T-shirts. If you're an art collector are you going to shell out $4000 for something that you see on a cheap Hallensteins' T-shirt?

Reporter: In September the Artists Alliance launched a code of practise in an attempt to combat the rise of unethical and illegal copying by artists, galleries and businesses. Wellington copyright lawyer Ken Moon believes with careful planning there are ways artists can protect themselves.

Ken Moon (Copyright Lawyer): Yes there are steps which they can take to put themselves in the best possible position but they really have to do all that even before they lift the pencil or a hammer to commence on their artwork. They really need to be speaking to a copyright lawyer right back at that stage.

Reporter: Attempts by Radio New Zealand to contact Hallensteins have been unsuccessful. John Radford expects to file court papers in the Auckland District Court by the end of the day. For Morning Report Kiri Ennis.