Korean War Memorial is Copyrighted—Just Not by the U.S. Government

From DCist: Korean War Memorial is Copyrighted—Just Not by the U.S. Government

A postage stamp first issued in 2003 could wind up costing the United States Postal Service quite a bit if an appeals court sides with the artist who claims his work was appropriated without his permission. And in this case, the the "work" is the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the sculptor of which says the Postal Service did not have permission to sell reprints of his design for the memorial.

Frank Gaylord first sued the Postal Service in July 2009, claiming that as the holder of the copyright on the memorial, he was entitled to a share of sales of the stamp. Of course, this unleashed a debate over whether one can actually claim copyright over a public memorial. Most likely, as Techdirt surmised at the time the photographer commissioned by the Postal Service to capture the Korean War Veterans Memorial went through hundreds of shots from innumerable angles before settling on the image preserved on the stamp.

But Gaylord argued in U.S. District Court that as the memorial's designer, he was entitled to remuneration for the sale of images of his creation. Based on licensing payments the Postal Service to use legitimately copyrighted works on its stamps, the court awarded Gaylord $5,000. He appealed, saying he deserves 10 percent of the Postal Service's $30 million revenue from the Korean War Veterans Memorial stamp.

And yesterday, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit took the first step in agreeing with Gaylord, declaring that the lower court was incorrect to award him just $5,000, Techdirt reported. As a result of that ruling, the District Court will have to award Gaylord a higher figure.

But to Techdirt, the potential intellectual damage is far worse than any monetary amount. Leaving the copyright on a public monument in the hands of a single actor could set a very dangerous precedent:

So, can we convince the federal government of a rather simple idea going forward: if you have someone create a memorial or statue or piece of artwork for public display, part of the deal is they put the whole thing into the public domain. If they don't like it, find another artist. The fact that this work is not in the public domain is a travesty. The fact that the photo is not considered fair use on the sculpture in the first place is a travesty. The fact that he may end up getting another batch of money for this is a travesty. And all of it could have been avoided if someone (anyone) in the U.S. government realized ahead of time that artwork created for public display should belong to the public.