Rob Munday, the person responsible for the production of the holography in the famous portraits of the late Queen Elizabeth II titled ‘Equanimity’ & ‘Lightness of Being’, is bring a claim against Chris Levine, the photographer of the portraits after allegations of breach of Mr Munday’s moral rights by Mr Levine and his company, Sphere 9.
Mr Levine claims to be the sole owner of the portraits by way of his photography, stating that Mr Munday is a mere collaborator to the production of the portraits. However, Mr Munday claims that he is a co-author by way of his expertise in producing the holographic art overlaid onto the portraits. This is because Mr Munday states that Mr Levine could not have created the holographic imagery without his experience and expertise.
This is not the first time that Mr Levine has come under legal scrutiny regarding these portraits. For instance, the Jersey Heritage Trust brought a claim against Mr Levine for breach of contract and copyright infringement following his sale of allegedly unlicensed copies of the works, with the trust claiming ownership of the works because it commissioned them. However, the parties reached an agreement out of court and published a joint statement which claimed that Mr Levine was the sole owner of the work and that Mr Munday was a ‘creative collaborator’.
Mr Levine has remained firm in his stance that he is the sole owner of the works, having stated that “any claim on my rights will be fiercely defended”. Time will tell as to Mr Munday’s success in this matter, and there will undoubtedly be interesting developments as this case progresses.
If you have any questions on the above, or if you need any advice or support in respect of your own intellectual property, please do not hesitate to contact the team at McDaniels Law on 0191 281 4000 or legal@mcdanielslaw.com.
