Che Guevara's family to fight use of famed photo

[Minstrel Boy]

Aleida Guevara in front of the icon image of her father in a 1997 photo.

Che Guevara's family to fight use of famed photo

Monday, August 29, 2005 Posted: 1335 GMT (2135 HKT)

HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters) -- With his picture on rock band posters, baseball caps and women's lingerie, Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara is firmly entrenched in the capitalist consumer society that he died fighting to overturn.

...

But as well as being one of the world's most reproduced, the image has become one of its most merchandised. And Guevara's family is launching an effort to stop it. They plan to file lawsuits abroad against companies that they believe are exploiting the image and say lawyers in a number of countries have offered assistance.

...

"We have a plan to deal with the misuse," Guevara's Cuban widow Aleida March said in an interview.

"We can't attack everyone with lances like Don Quixote, but we can try to maintain the ethics" of Guevara's legacy, said March, who will lead the effort from the Che Guevara Studies Center which is opening in Havana later this year.

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/08/29/che.guevara.reut/

[blm]

1. My 4yo was wearing a Che shirt at her first concert (Eric Burdon/Animals)

Eric saw her and spoke with her a bit, then wrote VIVA la REVOLUTION above Che's head and signed his name further down, underneath the head.

She's outgrown it now, so we keep it in a glass box frame.

I think Che would approve of that use.

When Eric asked her who was on her shirt she replied "It's Che....Justice for all."

Man, I love my kid.

[Mairead]

25. Wow, what a classy kid you've got!

But then, the apple rarely falls far from the tree

[NVMojo]

2. the beer photo is an example of what they are saying is exploitation

but I do not think the graffitti painting is as it is shown for what he stood for ...the poor ...

[Minstrel Boy]

8. that was my intent,

to contrast illegitimate with legitimate use of his image.

[northzax]

3. good luck with that, guys

you're not going to stop it. Three reasons: one: the image belongs to the photographer, not the subject. Two: it's been widely used, without complaint, for 20 years. three: i would argue, successfully, that one and two have combined to have it enter the public domain. You couldn't stop this anymore than the Vatican could prevent the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel from being used in commercials.

The murderous doctor is dead (and anyone who thinks Che was some sort of peaceful revolutionary needs to read up on it) I refuse to be all that inspired by an enforcer. He had some interesting ideas, sure, but he was Castro's enforcer.

[blondeatlast]

4. The Castro enforcer angle should have put the kibosh on the commercial

use, such as the beer ad.

But we can't expect Madison Avenue to know history, can we?

I've always been a bit perplexed by the celebration of Che, myself.

[northzax]

6. marketer's dream

remote, mythical figure who died young under mysterious circumstances. He's not around to grow old, get fat, sell out of be revealed as a fraud (not to say any of those would have happened to Ernesto in particular) so he is what we make him out to be.

on edit: plus, there is an iconic image of him that is easily manipulatible. And communism is really a joke now, no one's afraid of it, so we can mock and market it.

[Solo_in_MD]

7. And kids are not taught it either

My daughter came home with a hoodie with a Maltese Cross on it. I got a bit peeved. Her comment was "Its the independent Trucking Symbol, so its OK". She got some extra reading assignments from her parents and does not wear it anymore

[AtTheEndOfTheDay]

12. Please enlighten us

or me anyway. What's wrong with a Maltese Cross?

[Chicago Democrat]

Looks like a German Iron Cross, Hitler wore

Maybe cause the Templars used it? dunno why Maltese Cross is bad.

[K-W]

22. Thats my guess too. The German Iron Cross

is often referred to as a maltese cross, though Im not sure if it is a perfect match.

[Solo_in_MD]

30. The Iron Cross is a Maltese cross

Though another variation is the symbol for many fire departments. Google Maltese Cross. Difference is straight vice curved arms. The pics Google comes up with makes it pretty clear.

Independent Trucking uses a straight up Iron Cross. Not something I like to see young people wearing.

[Chicago Democrat]

20. Looks like a German Iron Cross, Hitler wore

Maybe cause the Templars used it? dunno why Maltese Cross is bad.

[uncle ray]

37. independent trucks

are skateboard trucks, not a trucking company.;)

[HadItUpToHere]

10. Blame it on Bowie.

at least partially, for his use of Che's name in "Panic in Detroit"- as well as a decaying American society where the lyrics to pop songs are of more importance than the words of history books.

[mitchum]

32. There are many things that I blame on Bowie (particularly a lot...

of the British twit synth pop of the 80s), but Che had already become a counterculture icon by the late 60s. Although I was a very young child, I recall seeing his image on many poaters and t-shirts during that time.
However, "Panic In Detroit" is a great song. And Che was a great man. :)

[Bridget Burke]

5. The "murderous doctor" still lives.

And I've read enough to know that Che was NOT a peaceful revolutionary.

Lalo Alcarez invented this version of the famous image.

[WindRavenX]

27. No one is saying he was a non-violent revolutionary

In fact, I embrace the man's tactics because of the absolute brutality of the capitalist system...he was only doing what was necessary.

[Bridget Burke]

29. I was answering a post....

That suggested we "read up" on Che so we would know he was not a non-violent revolutionary.

I've read considerably, so I know he was not a pacifist. But he was not a "murderer" as some have called him.

[WindRavenX]

38. true

Murderer he was not.
I admire him, although he was...ruthless during combat. But that's how things go.

[Megahurtz]

35. What's with the Nike logo on his cap though?

That's pretty lame.

I would call that exploitation.

[Flanker]

9. IP law is a mess

But you are thinking of trademarks not copyrights, to uphold copyrights you don't need to prove you defended them before.

The photographer also agrees, and with current copyright law it could remain protected until 2070 or something.

As for Che, while he did kill people, his positive imprint outweighs the negative. There are historical figures that did far worse, yet are considered positive influences, and I don't see people whining about them.

He is very much a hero in the southern sub-continent.

[LisaM]

13. The image doesn't necessarily belong to the photographer

though in this case, I agree that it probably does.

[northzax]

15. the photographic image certainly does

in this case, but a non-photographic reproduction is a bit harder to deal with. Likenesses are tough.

[Xithras]

17. If the likeness is based off the photograph, it's a derivative work

Derivative works are covered by the same copyright as the original photograph.

If someone redrew Guevara with his face looking at the viewer, it would be an original work and both his family & the photographer would be SOL. But the reality is that all of the drawings are based off of one original photograph. They ARE covered by copyright.

[northzax]

18. from the article...

Lawyers say it will be an uphill struggle to deter non-photographic use of such a widely reproduced image, other than in countries like Italy where laws protect image rights. the article implies that only in Italy is this really clear. I'm not an IP lawyer, I confess, so all I gots if what CNN is telling me.

[LisaM]

23. Right, I am sure that the applicable laws weren't even in effect

when he died, and probably aren't in much of South America now. Heck, they vary in the U.S. from state to state. I would think that the photographer and family could get together in this case and protect the image to the benefit of both.

http://www.ivanhoffman.com/photos.html

[mitchum]

33. One of the many things that I admire about Che is the fact that he...

was NOT a "peaceful revolutionary"
However, he was no murderer.

[OETKB]

11. Che was a murderer, but there is more

This middle class doctor became imbued with rage after a visit about South and Central America after observing outside American corporate interference in the lives of people, mostly impoverishing them and causing premature deaths. This drove him to become ideologic and take on the mantle of Chinese communism. Nothing was going to stop him from destroying any vestige of capitalism. This is far from an approval of his methods, but these facts of history can be explored in an excellent biography titled "Che"

His legacy is a warning example not a roadmap for peace. He is a study in the creation of a revolutionary. His life serves as a caution that individuals will become radicalized if pushed enough.

What did him in was the communist party in Bolivia. They had been given political rights and were not interested in his revolution by violence. They had a stake in the say of their nation and they were not going to have it destroyed. It was they who set the Bolivian police and CIA onto his trail. This led to his execution in the foothills of the Andes by the Bolivian army and CIA operatives.

This administration is paving the same path for intellectual youth who can be radicalized in a similar fashion. They never learn. Again Thomas Paine: "Time makes more converts than reason."

Che lives for those who see no hope or that their concerns are being listened to. We ignore their needs at our peril.

[Xithras]

16. That's why some people still idolize him

Sadly, I've only met one person who "got" that, but it's the original reason why he stuck around as a symbol. Che isn't a person to be honored, and he didn't live a life that anyone can be proud of, but he is an example of what can happen when common people are viciously oppressed and aren't given any reasonable way to secure their freedom. Che is a reminder that anyone, in the right circumstances, can become a revolutionary.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

21. Echoes of a US President saying...

"He may be a sonofabitch but he's OUR sonofabitch." Who was it?

As they say, two can play this game.

[Xithras]

14. Only one persons opinion matters: The photographer

Do we know who took the picture? Unless Guevara had the picture taken as a portrait, and unless he obtained rights from the photographer, the ownership of the likeness belongs to the person who took the image or the agency he/she worked for.

Does anyone know what the photographers opinion is?

[Book Lover]

19. The photographer is dead

http://www.artcult.com/na181.html

Alberto Diaz Guttierez called Korda, a Cuban photographer who immortalised revolutionary leader Ernesto Che Guevara with a shot taken in 1960, died of a heart attack during a visit to Paris on May 25th 2001 at 72. His legendary photograph, for which Korda did not obtain a cent in terms of copyrights until last year, became the emblem of several young generations. It had been taken during a funeral service at Havana on March 6th 1960. Such photograph became after some cunning retouching a kind of icon pinned on the walls of so many students’ rooms throughout the 20th Century.

<snip>

It was during the burial ceremony held for the 80 victims of a bomb attack in the harbour of Havana that he managed to catch glimpse of the Che and took two quick photographs of the latter. Such photograph was regarded as one of the hundred best taken during the 20th Century. He took his first shot in a horizontal position and the second vertically and decided to work on the former erasing the profile of a man
and a palm tree on the left of it. However, it was after Che Guevara was killed by Bolivian soldiers in October 1967 that such photo was published. It then became a mythical image but Korda did not perceive any copyright fees as Cuba had not signed the Bern Convention on intellectual property.

Korda never complained and limited himself to stressing that such photo had served the Cuban cause. He however decided to sue a British advertising agency which had used his photo for a campaign promoting the Smirnoff vodka brand and obtained damages amounting to $ 50,000 that he immediately offered to a charity fund.

Korda, who worked for the “Revolucion” periodical from 1959 produced the portraits of most leaders of the Cuban Communist regime and covered many official events in Cuba. Many of his other portraits of Che Guevara were exhibited around the world.

It was Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, a Milan-base publisher and staunch admirer of the Cuban revolution, who used Korda’s photo to produce a poster. At least one million posters offered at $ 5 each were sold around the world with a Feltrinelli copyright marking whereas Korda did not perceive a cent on these. Such photo also appeared on millions of postcards, tee-shirts, scarves, newspapers and tons of other objects.

[Xithras]

24. Cuba signed the Berne Convention in 1997

Copyright belongs to the photographers surviving heir, and is internationally enforceable since Cuba is now a signer of the convention.

Realistically, copyright probably belongs to whoever the Cuban government says it belongs to at this point, since Cuban law gives the government unlimited rights to reassign property ownership at will. I wouldn't be suprised if Castro gives the copyright to Guevara's family just to help them in their crusade.

[Book Lover]

26. That would be nice, and I'd like to see that happen if

the photographer's family has no objection to it. I also wonder if the Berne Convention has a clause addressing the status of those works created in a nation before that nation becomes signatory to it.

[KC21304]

36. What a guy, this Feltrinelli. He was a staunch admirer

of the Cuban revolution, but he didn't let that stop him from making $5 million off someone else's work without compensating either the photographer or the subject's family. Viva la Capitalism.

[Judi Lynn]

28. He didn't appreciate anyone using the image for material gain

Alberto Korda

....The Cuban photographer was in the headlines last year when he won an out-of-court settlement and was paid about $50,000 from a British ad agency to settle a dispute over the use of his famed picture of Guevara in a Smirnoff vodka campaign. Korda, who lived in Havana, gave the money for children's medicines. "If Che was still alive, he would have done the same,'' Korda told Reuters then. Korda never objected to mass use of his photo as a protest symbol, but in recent years he began to fight its commercial reproduction in ways he said "dishonored'' his subject.
(snip)

http://www.companeroche.com/index.php?id=90

If he hadn't died, he'd no doubt maintain this same position. As I've heard, he NEVER took money for his photo personally.

[Judi Lynn]

31. It just occurred to me there's something strange about this image

which shows Che Guevara holding a beer. HE DIDN'T DRINK.

Good lord. Now that's TACKY.

On edit, adding:

Guevara's family and Korda, before his death in 2001, were enraged four years ago when the image was used to advertise Smirnoff vodka. Guevara, who didn't drink, would have hated the commercialization of his memory, they said. Korda later won copyright protection for the image from a British court.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/09/23/entertainment/main645314.shtml

[Coventina]

34. Well, first they will have to sue Warhol's estate

Since it was his re-print of the photo that really turned the color photo into the more abstract image that is so widely used now.

[Matilda]

39. Does that mean I'll have to change my avatar?

If I were a family member, I'd object to the image being used to
advertise anything, but not as a protest symbol. I think it's
probably helped to keep Che's name and image alive.

[moddemny]

40. "Does that mean I'll have to change my avatar?"

The avatar sucks irregardless of any copyright disputes on how it should be used. There are much better people to use as a protest symbols. Someone who threw out one repressive regime to replace it with another more repressive regime is far from the ideal protest symbol, it's evidence of hypocrisy.

[0007]

41. CNN & White House bullshit