Volkswagen i Danmark sagsøges for misbrug af Ai Weiweis facadeværk på Kunsthal Charlottenborg
3.500 redningsveste anbragt på Kunsthal Charlottenborgs facade blev i 2017 brugt i et reklamefremstød for Volkswagen uden tilladelse. Nu sagsøger Ai Weiwei, kunstneren bag facadeværket ’Soleil Levant’, det tyske bilmærke, der kommer for retten i Danmark. Sagen har principiel betydning for alle kunstnere, der arbejder i Danmark.
På FN’s Internationale Flygtningedag, den 20. juni 2017, blev et nyt kunstværk indviet af kunstneren Ai Weiwei (f. 1957 i Beijing Kina), der særligt havde skabt værket til facaden på Kunsthal Charlottenborg og København. Værket Soleil Levant består af en barrikadering af kunsthallens vinduer med mere end 3500 redningsveste opsamlet fra flygtninge, der er kommet i land på den græske ø Lesbos.
Ai Weiweis værk på Kunsthal Charlottenborgs facade blev i 2017 misbrugt i et VW reklame-fremstød uden kunstnerens og kunsthallens tilladelse. Det kommer nu for retten i Danmark, hvor kammeradvokaten fører sagen for Ai Weiwei.
Retssagen har ikke kun betydning for at Ai Weiwei opnår retfærdighed, men bliver principielt afgørende for den fremtidige beskyttelse af alle kunstneres rettigheder i det offentlige rum i Danmark. Kunsthal Charlottenborg er en del af Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademis Billedkunstskoler, hvor sagen også har en særlig betydning i forhold til at beskytte de studerende og kommende kunstnere mod misbrug af deres værker i kommercielle sammenhænge.
Sagen som Ai Weiwei har anlagt mod Volkswagen Danmark beskriver han således i et opslag delt søndag den 10. marts på Instagram:
I am suing Volkswagen in Denmark for violating my intellectual property and moral rights. My artwork “Soleil Levant” (2017), which I created for World Refugee Day, was installed at Copenhagen’s Kunsthal Charlottenborg from June 20 to October 1, 2017. The work comprises 3,500 lifejackets used by refugees who fled to Lesvos, Greece, escaping persecution and conflict.
In October 2017 Volkswagen Denmark used an unauthorized photo of “Soleil Levant” in an ad for its VW Polo campaign. I was not credited as the artist, and my artwork image was uncredited and cropped without permission. The infringing material was circulated to over 200,000 people, giving the false impression that I had authorized Volkswagen to use my artwork in its ad for the new Polo.
I was astonished by Volkswagen’s brazen violations of my intellectual property and moral rights. Since November 2017 I have been trying to resolve the matter with Volkswagen. In more than one year of fruitless negotiation, they only engaged in arrogant gestures to trivialize their guilt and dismiss the matter.
Intellectual property protection lies at the heart of a society that values human invention and makes our useful accumulation of knowledge possible. Respect of intellectual property law is one cornerstone of a functioning international legal system. As one of the largest European companies, Volkswagen should understand these same laws. Volkswagen and other multinational corporations have tremendous bargaining power in intellectual property protection as well as environmental and human rights. They are not above the law.
Human rights, like intellectual property, is a popular concept but one that is difficult to enforce. We should remember that Germany took in one million refugees in 2015, a powerful humanitarian act in a divided world. As one of Germany’s internationally most visible companies, Volkswagen’s disregard for fair play and humanitarian issues is truly disturbing.