The
still-unnamed star of the hit video known as Technoviking is suing
Matthias Fritsch, the filmmaker who recorded him dancing in 2000. The
lawyers involved and the court in Germany are not very forthcoming with
the facts of the case, but Technoviking wants all videos and images
bearing his likeness stripped from the web. If not, he wants Fritsch to
pay up and spend time in jail. Judges in the case proposed a compromise,
which Technoviking has rejected. A German blogger doesn't think
Technoviking can win.
Under the common law... the
Technoviking video can be legally shared. Technoviking went out into a
public festival, where certainly knew he might be filmed, and started
dancing. He was sharing his image with thousands of strangers, and
obviously enjoyed himself doing so. The artist was not using the
Technoviking's image to sell a product, and the money he earned from it
was merely incidental to its unexpected success. And it was, of course,
money for something he created—the video of an interesting person
dancing on the street.
But if the courts side with
the plaintiff, the repercussions could affect artists, photographers,
and videographers in profound ways.
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