This guy did the same to me here in Switzerland for the original Swiss poster. I explained to him that this is original advertising material and no reprint posters. I would agree if we did commercial reprints but we don't. He then showed some comprehension (he actually thought that we would reprint this poster!), but having lost time and being threatened in an agressive manner I lost my motivation to sell this poster and I cancelled it from my website.
He is also in a legal battle with the Swiss Film Archives over this title. Apparently this guy is somewhat obsessed and has too much time to google his film and threatens anybody who is selling photos or posters of his movie (and even more, it is not sure that he still owns the rights). This is the only time for the past 15 years I got involved in a case like this. So as long as you don't reprint posters for commercial purposes, there should be no problem. Marcel Elsener www.movieart.ch Von: MoPo List [mailto:[email protected]] Im Auftrag von Helmut Hamm Gesendet: Dienstag, 27. November 2012 14:16 An: [email protected] Betreff: Re: [MOPO] How would you deal with this? This is nonsense. cinema advertising was either given away or sold in the first place, so as long as you are re-selling an original piece of cinema advertising, copyright laws simply do not apply. If you re-print the poster, it MAY be a different issue, but even then 'Urs-Film' would have to show proof that they indeed own the copyright on this specific poster, and it would certainly be interesting to see how a Swiss film company manages to actually prove their ownership on a 1960s belgian poster... Alternatively, they would have to prove that the have registered the film as a Registered Trademark (like James Dean, or any Disney or Universal characters), but how likely is that? Even if they could, they would have to sue you in the Netherlands, and over a value of $40. Again, how likely is THAT to begin with, and what damage could they claim? If you want to reply to them at all, I would kindly inform them that you are selling an ORIGINAL PIECE OF CINEMA ADVERTISING, which is sold solely as a collector's item, with no rights given or implied. Just my two cents. Helmut www.filmposter.net Hello Everyone on MoPo, we recently received the following message concerning a Belgian poster we are selling on our website and are wondering how you, specifically the dealers, would respond to this. this is to inform you that distributing and selling Wilhelm-Tell-Posters and fotos such as you are offering them in your webshop is prohibited due to copyright belonging to us, Urs-Film in Switzerland since 1958. The fotos were produced during the production of the film Wilhelm Tell in 1960 and are protected by copyright. Now there are two possibilites: you either stop offering and selling these articles in your webshop immediately or else you tell us which percentage you are willing to pay to us for any sale you effect- else our lawyers will take you to court without delay. This is the poster: http://www.motionpictureart.com/Wilhelm-Tell-Movie-Poster-p-20446.html Thanks in advance for your input. Ron & Alexandra Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com <http://www.filmfan.com/> ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
