SIVACRACY.NET

As this NYT article reports, glass artist Dale Chihuly:

"...has sued two glass blowers, including a longtime collaborator, for copyright infringement, accusing them of imitating his signature lopsided creations, and other designs inspired by the sea.

"The glass blowers say that Mr. Chihuly is trying to control entire forms, shapes and colors and that his brand does not extend to ancient and evolving techniques derived from the natural world. ..."

The article suggests that the fact that Chihuly doesn't actually make his own art (he describes a vision, and "exhorts," apparently, but delegates the actual execution to others) will be important in the suit. It would certainly seem relevant to the morality of some of the claims at issue. For copyright law purposes, however, it is probably of little consequence. If the actual creators of the works are "employees," then the copyright statute unequivocally deems Chihuly the "author" of the works. The copyright infringement allegations, however, are highly contestable, and will turn on legal findings concerning the scope of copyright in Chihuly's works. Here's another excerpt from the NYT article linked above:

"This lawsuit is not about money," he said, puttering around the boathouse in paint-splattered shoes with a lawyer and publicity agent in tow. "It's about what is fair. There are a million forms you can make that don't look like mine."

Anytime someone says a lawsuit "is not about money" I tend to roll my eyes and make unattractive snorting sounds, but in this case I suspect the defendants don't actually have a lot of money, and it really is Chihuly's ego that is driving this litigation. The NYT piece makes it sound as though the enmity Chihuly has for one of the defendants, a former employee, is also a motivator. Copyright scope shouldn't be driven by ego or anger, though. A court will determine the size of Chihuly's monopoly over sea shapes in the context of art glass, a monopoly which will potentially remain in place for Chihuly's lifetime plus seventy additional years. A "high barriers" win for Chilhuly would be unlikely to generate an increase in his creative production, but would impose tremendous restraints on other glass artists now and generations into the future.

A little self-promo: I've written about this sort of issue in a lot more detail in a paper that can be accessed here.