Your Cart is Empty
Home
Che's Photographer Threatens Liberty Maniacs With Lawsuit
The heir to Fidel Castro’s personal photographer, Alberto Korda recently turned her French lawyer on to Liberty Maniacs. The woman’s father was the Cuban communist who took the famous photograph of Che Guevara you see on the t-shirts of clueless teenagers and well-healed celebrities named Guerrillero Heroico (English: "Heroic Guerrilla Fighter"). We’ve been lampooning the image for over a decade.
The lawyer for the Korda estate based in Paris, Randy Yaloz, sent us the threat insinuating a million-Euro cash extraction would be required to settle the matter. Apparently the heir and company named Legende Global managing Kordas communist imagery wasn't pleased with our parodies of Donald Trump and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rousting cult of personality silliness. (Queue Living Colour.)
We called bullshit. (Our legal term for it.) And Paul Levy, the lawyer who successfully defended us from other stupid copyright bullying stunts from the likes of the NSA, DHS, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders, quickly issued an epic response letter. Here's Paul's blog post on it.
The closing paragraph of the response is the best:
In sum, Liberty Maniacs is entirely within its rights under the doctrine of fair use as well as the First Amendment, and it will not yield to your threats. It is not going to stop disseminating its parodies, it is not going to produce any documents to you, and it is not going to conduct any discussions with you about our desire to extract payments of money to your clients. Nor does it agree with your characterization of its products as “litigious” – should you file suit as you are threatening to so, the label of litigiousness will likely be applied to you and your clients. If you file suit in France, we will not appear to defend, but we will oppose any attempt to enforce any resulting judgment here in the United States. If you do file suit in the United States, we anticipate seeking an award of attorney fees for the bringing of frivolous infringement claims
Korda was an avowed communist working for Castro’s personal newspaper Revolución - yes, Castro had his own personal Cuban newspaper - and as a communist he was never allowed the rights to his famous image of Che.
At least, when Korda took the iconic image of Che Guevara in 1960 that became a worldwide symbol of revolution and rebellion he never received any royalties for the image. Why? Because Castro did not recognize the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. As any Kulak can tell you, good communists don’t respect private property rights.
But Korda likely wain’t all that instrumental in making the cult image of Che part of popular culture in reality. That credit is likely due to Irishman Jim Fitzpatrick, who took the image without permission and started a poster company in the 60s and 70s called Two Bear Feet. After that artists and designers world wide started reproducing the image worldwide trying to make a quick buck. Mostly in the chiaroscuro psychedelic style Fitzpatrick used which is easier to screenprint with crude equipment.
Jim eventually moved on to do Thin Lizzy album covers and some portraits of leftists and Irish landscapes after Che. But you can still buy his original reproductions featuring the hidden “JF” on Che’s shoulder and slightly raised eyebrow he fashioned on Che to add drama.
We, however, as heartless cogs in the capitalist superstructure of economic exploitation do respect those property rights of Comrade Korda, and would have willingly shelled out for whatever licensing fee the lovely Mrs. Diana Díaz López would ask for if we were into promoting mass murdering communists on t-shirts.
But we do parodies. Parodies don't require permission and don't cost a licensing fee. And that, my friends, is why Comrade Diana Díaz López - or more likely the company managing these images - put her legal French poodle on us.
In our experience over the last 17 years having fun with powerful folks, we've found they sometimes don’t have the thickest skin. Nor a healthy sense of humor.
Copyright harassment seems to be the go-to tactic when you're trying to protect a less-than-stellar reputation in an age where any kid can pull up how your subject was an intense racist homophobe mass murderer on a smart phone. Yikes. With a Che-themed copyright troll it seems ironically appropriate too considering Che thought free speech and courts for that matter were a bourgeois detail.
“To send men to the firing squad, judicial proof is unnecessary … These procedures are an archaic bourgeois detail. This is a revolution!” - Che
Well, we don't plan on "bending the knee" any time soon. Paul sent off another one of his legal top turnbuckle elbow drops, and I don't suspect there will be much more barking from the French poodle or comrade Díaz López. American law still respects free speech on matters such as this, and the weird european clause their lawyer cites don't apply here.
But as always, if they still want to test the 1st Amendment and free speech here in the USA, then we’ll certainly be their huckleberry. Until then, however, Liberty Maniacs will go right ahead and continue making parodies of comrade Che and anyone else we please. We hope you enjoy them and even try one on for size if it suits your fancy.
You can find these parodies and other fine contraband unsuccessfully banned here.
12 Responses
Leave a comment
Also in Liberty Maniacs News
Spotting and Neutralizing Demoralization Campaigns
Explore the world of demoralization and psychological warfare. Learn to recognize signs, historical examples, and how radical activism tactics intersect with traditional strategies of demoralization. Empower yourself against the erosion of morale and unity.
Read More
The Wit that Unmasked Kings: How Jesters Spoke Truth to Power
Unveil the comedic mystique of jesters in medieval courts, where laughter danced with truth! From kings' confidants to truth-tellers, jesters wielded satire as a weapon, challenging the mighty with wit. Fast forward to today, where stand-up comedians reignite the laughter revival, bridging gaps with humor and wisdom. Discover the jester's legacy and the powerful role of comedy in unmasking hidden truths. Laughter awaits, as we journey through the realms of jest and satire.
Read More
Annasysbig
June 08, 2021
download facebook spy tool
al quran digital free download full version for pcqualcomm atheros bluetooth suite (64) windows 8.1 download freecall of duty 5 pc game downloadinternet explorer 7 free download for windows 7 freedownload google chrome 64 bit for windows 10windows xp 32bit iso download freedownload pc games 88 spider man web of shadowsphoto editing apps for pc windows 7 free downloadhttps www microsoft com en in software download windows 10graphical user interface download windows 10
avro bangla keyboard download for windows 10
jarvis software for windows 10 free download
free download skype for windows xp home edition free
gta vice city free download for pc windows 7 ultimate
free download facebook messenger for pc windows 10
pdf viewer download for pc windows 10
javascript for windows xp download free
csr 2 for pc free download
windows live movie maker music download free
staxmem.dll download for windows xp free
crossout pc download free
ulead download free windows 8 free
download acer windows 10 recovery disk
free download games for pc windows 7 64 bit
internet explorer for windows 10 64 bit download
https://chromebrowser.ru/free-download-of-mozilla-firefox-for-windows-10-64/
https://mixpresent.ru/crota-hard-mode-drops-crotas-end-whats-new-in-hard/
https://fundamentservis.ru/t-mobile-samsung-s6-marshmallow-android/
https://fundamentservis.ru/msi-ge72-2qc-apache-ge72-2qc-apache/
https://rd-ok.ru/download-windows-photo-viewer-on-windows-10/
memu play download for pc windows 10
download vpn free for pc psiphon
download jio saavn app for pc windows 10
codycross free download for pc
delta force black hawk down pc free download
ben 10 games free download for windows 7
windows utility manager free download free
download microsoft office for windows 10 32 bit
download windows 8.1 pro trial free
adobe 8 free download windows xp free
download itunes for windows 10 64 bit latest version
android usb tether driver free download for windows xp free
download skype desktop windows 10
ms paint for windows xp sp3 free download free
goodix fingerprint driver windows 10 download
https://chromebrowser.ru/explorerframe-dll-windows-10-download/
https://chromebrowser.ru/free-bluetooth-software-download-for-windows-10/
https://chromebrowser.ru/eclipse-j2ee-download-for-windows-10-64-bit/
https://fundamentservis.ru/sabertooth-z77-windows-10-the-ultimate-thermal/
https://chromebrowser.ru/free-download-full-version-windows-10-you-can/
brothers in arms game for pc free download
candy crush saga pc game free download windows 10
download lotus 123 for windows 10 64 bit
itunes 10.7 download windows
download naruto shippuden games for pc free full version
hangouts for windows download free
adobe flash player 10.1 free download for windows xp free
best game download for pc site
download game sonic riders for pc
cooking pizza games free download for pc