Coexist
- Thread starter Zol.
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The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Chizip said:
Artists have an automatic copyright on any work they produce, at least in North America. I am fairly certain it's the same in Europe.
The problem with grafitti, as I see it, is proof of ownership and date...not to mention that it is often illegally produced.
Jon
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the soul waits
New Yorker
Chizip said:
Yeah makes sense, even it was just to protect themselves against any plagery (sp) lawsuits.
Klink said:
Well what I meant was the graffiti could have been inspired by copywrited material. And it probably would have been a good idea to check, since appearantly it was.
I mean all you have to do it type in Coexist into google and it will show a link to but the t-shirts with the logo. Not too hard to do a little research on it.
xmarcx said:
well they are selling very expensive tickets to a show where the image is being used
if it is true that they used this image without securing it's rights, then i would think the original artist could make a very good case to some compensation
Chizip said:
Oh, I remembered to bring my brain with me today, so forgive me if I am not trusting him right away with this kernel of knowlegde
If U2 and associate people were indeed stupid enough to steal without checking with the artist, the he should be suing them. However, I doubt this is the case and that the proper arrangements were made given prior precedent.
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Miroslava said:
Oh, I remebered to bring my brain with me today, so forgive me if I am not trusting him right away with this kernel of knowlegde
If U2 and associate people were indeed stupid enough to steal without checking with the artist, the he should be suing them. However, I doubt this is the case and that the proper arrangements were made given prior precedent.
how could you not trust a guy named Zol?
So if U2 did get permission from the artist why wouldn't Bono just credit the artist during the show instead of claiming he saw this graffiti somewhere in the midwest?
And are the two guys from Indiana crediting the original artist? Aren't they claiming it's their logo?
And are the two guys from Indiana crediting the original artist? Aren't they claiming it's their logo?
ramblin rose said:
I have never heard Bono mention anything about seeing the graffiti somewhere... And in the past, I dont think any of the individual artists names were mentioned during the show, so not mentioning his name doesnt necessarily prove anything...
From atu2.com
At Seattle 2, Bono sang that part right before the "Jesus, Jew, Mohammed, too" part where he draws attention to the COEXIST headband he's wearing. And that is a perfect segue to this bit of news / rumor:
There are rumblings (i.e. - I have no confirmation) that a clothing manufacturer named COEXIST has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Cafe Press, the popular do-it-yourself e-commerce provider, because several Cafe Press users have been selling items that bear a COEXIST design similar to what Bono wears on stage. The design itself was created by Polish artist Piotr Mlodozeniec as part of an art exhibition that has been touring the world since 2001. The clothing company apparently purchased the rights to the design at some point along the way and is now selling clothing that bears the image and others with the same message.
It seems safe to say that the Cafe Press users selling COEXIST merchandise don't have permission to do so. I wonder if Bono made sure to get permission to use the image on that headband? (Possibly very related is the fact that there are no items being sold at the Vertigo Tour merchandise booths that have the COEXIST image...)
So there exists the possibility that Piotr sold the rights to the clothing manufacturer and granted U2 permission to use the image during the show but not to manufacture clothing with it as those rights were sold....
Pure speculation of course.
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Miroslava said:
The last 5 shows I went to (NY, Philly, 3 Boston) Bono made the same speech about there being some wall somewhere in the midwest with Coexist on it. I guess he never actually made reference to the logo, but he did point to his headband at some point during this speech. If I recall correctly you even hear him make this same speech on the Chicago bootlegs.
dizzy
Rock n' Roll Doggie
ramblin rose said:
I remember that too. I was in Philly, NY and Chicago. He did however, stopped mentioning this in the European shows--at least in the bootlegs I heard, and during the Dublin shows.Doppelgang
The Fly
Well, if there is any 'actual' legal recourse by any "owner" then most any lawyer would jump at the opportunity to excavate the goldmine of legal fees to be had by taking the case.
Aside from the above I see Bono's intent as innocent in keeping with his morality and hummanitarian ideals.
The comment re U2 shows that the Coexist image appers at and the price of tickets does not make sense as it is the music not the logo drawing most all of the fans.
Doppelgang said:
Exactly... so as I have been saying... if the artist was no consulted, then I would say that he has every right to sue and any lawyer willing to take his case could easily find the way to serve the lawsuit... so either Piotr is a lazy bum for not having sued yet or there is no lawsuit to be had because everything was properly handled.
I am going to go with option 2
Achtung Ya'll
War Child
Miroslava said:
and from your first post:
Miroslava said:
So....which is it? 100% known fact or pure speculation?
Achtung Ya'll
War Child
Miroslava said:
what about option 3? That he never was contacted but isn't a blatant asshole and isn't going to sue over it. He'll just shrug it off since there's no real profit stealing going on.
U2Girl1978
Blue Crack Addict
Found on atu2.com
U2 Use Polish Designed Logo, but Forget to Ask for Permission
Radio Polonia, July 06, 2005
There is a Polish flavour to U2’s current world tour, which came to the south of the country yesterday. The COEXIST logo – which features prominently in their stage show - was designed by Polish artist, Piotr Mlodozeniec. Shame the band forgot to ask for his permission, says the designer.
The logo - consisting of an Islamic crescent, the Star of David and the Cross replacing the letters c, x and t in the word coexist - has become hugely popular. It communicates in a very clever way a message that is central to Bono’s thinking.
The logo with the three religious symbols, features as a large colour projection – an important element of stage design of the present U2 tour. The COEXIST logo designed by Mlodozeniec can also be spotted on Bono’s bandana.
In fact Bono used the catchword not only as a graphic logo but even as his motto. In Glasgow earlier this year fans could hear him chanting "Jesus, Jew and Mohammed coexist."
Polish graphic artist Piotr Mlodozeniec says he feels honoured to see Bono using his sign, however, he’s also bitterly disappointed that none of the members of the group has ever asked him for permission to use his design.
The logo was created as a project for the Museum on the Seam in Jerusalem to symbolize "coexistence and tolerance." Bono is said to have spotted it in Chicago, when it was just a piece of graffiti. He had no idea as to who designed it. As honoured as he feels, Mlodozeniec hopes that, sooner or later, U2 will settle the copyright problem with him.
U2 has crowds of fans all over the world, also in Poland and one of them is the artist Piotr Mlodozeniec, who despite the slight misunderstanding, went to the group's yesterday concert in Chorzow together with other 70 000 Poles.
U2 Use Polish Designed Logo, but Forget to Ask for Permission
Radio Polonia, July 06, 2005
There is a Polish flavour to U2’s current world tour, which came to the south of the country yesterday. The COEXIST logo – which features prominently in their stage show - was designed by Polish artist, Piotr Mlodozeniec. Shame the band forgot to ask for his permission, says the designer.
The logo - consisting of an Islamic crescent, the Star of David and the Cross replacing the letters c, x and t in the word coexist - has become hugely popular. It communicates in a very clever way a message that is central to Bono’s thinking.
The logo with the three religious symbols, features as a large colour projection – an important element of stage design of the present U2 tour. The COEXIST logo designed by Mlodozeniec can also be spotted on Bono’s bandana.
In fact Bono used the catchword not only as a graphic logo but even as his motto. In Glasgow earlier this year fans could hear him chanting "Jesus, Jew and Mohammed coexist."
Polish graphic artist Piotr Mlodozeniec says he feels honoured to see Bono using his sign, however, he’s also bitterly disappointed that none of the members of the group has ever asked him for permission to use his design.
The logo was created as a project for the Museum on the Seam in Jerusalem to symbolize "coexistence and tolerance." Bono is said to have spotted it in Chicago, when it was just a piece of graffiti. He had no idea as to who designed it. As honoured as he feels, Mlodozeniec hopes that, sooner or later, U2 will settle the copyright problem with him.
U2 has crowds of fans all over the world, also in Poland and one of them is the artist Piotr Mlodozeniec, who despite the slight misunderstanding, went to the group's yesterday concert in Chorzow together with other 70 000 Poles.
If things are as the article says, it sounds like the artist is a fan of the band and not really interested in launching legal action against them. If that is the case then it is possible that the artist will accept an apology. It would be decent of the band to offer at least that and maybe (artist depending) some compensation.
These situations are not unheard of in the art world and that tends to be because some people do not understand copyrights. In this case it may just be ignorance of the source of the image. It could just be a mistake and not every mistake has to end in a law suit.
Jon
These situations are not unheard of in the art world and that tends to be because some people do not understand copyrights. In this case it may just be ignorance of the source of the image. It could just be a mistake and not every mistake has to end in a law suit.
Jon
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Doppelgang
The Fly
All things considered
COEXIST is the message
COEXIST is the message
I'm a subscriber and it's easy for us or the artist to say, but at the end of the day everybody has to make a living and that's what copyrights are about. U2's message is the same and they sued over a stolen stetson (and rightly so). Coexistance is a two-way street.
Jon
Jon
Achtung Ya'll said:
I was stating that it was a known fact that it was Piotr's design and that part of the initial post was unheard of. The 100% referred my personal belief (more like hopes) that the band/production had been smart enough to ask for permission given prior precent from the other tours where they sought out art to match the image they were tying to convey during the shows.
The later post you mention and you took out of the context of that portion of the conversation, refers to speculation as to the possible rights given by the artists to the 2 different entities...
Given this latest article, seems like the band did not ask for permission thereby making my 100% statement wrong, so there you go. Stupid if they didnt secure rights if you ask me.
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