Published: 14 Jul 10 08:08 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/27776/20100714/
Lindahls dairy in Jönköping in Sweden has paid almost two million kronor ($270,000) in compensation to Minas Karatzoglis, a Greek man whose picture is used on a Turkish yoghurt product.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
With one arrest warrant being issued after four nights of rioting in Stockholm, Sweden's Integration Minister Erik Ullenhag said the rioters are a small minority, and did not represent a clash between young people in the suburbs and Swedish society. READ () »
A viral Facebook post about the terror of being targeted by stone-throwing youths during to the ongoing Stockholm riots has made firefighter Mattias Lassén into something of a Swedish folk hero, and The Local's pick for Swede of the Week. READ () »
Fresh from another near miss with a hulking behemoth of an elk, ex-Londoner Paul Connolly offers up a theory on how the prospect of imminent collisions with wayward wildlife affects the driving habits of Swedes up north. READ () »
The government and its main opposition have agreed to new rules governing performance requirements and profits at publicly funded, privately managed free schools. READ () »
Scientists at three Swedish universities have managed to muddle through the genetic code for fir trees, seven times larger than the human genome, with potential benefits for the Swedish forestry industry. READ () »
The Borås Zoo in western Sweden has welcomed a rare new elephant calf as African elephant Dudu gave birth on Wednesday after two years of pregnancy. READ () »
Wednesday night saw more burning cars, smashed windows, and stone throwing at police in at least 15 suburbs around Stockholm, as the fourth night of riots swept the Swedish capital. READ () »
Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet has signed up to offer free online courses, joining a network of 27 universities worldwide that reach nearly a million students. READ () »
More news from Germany at thelocal.de
More news from France at thelocal.fr
More news from Norway at thelocal.no
More news from Switzerland at thelocal.ch
Register now for:
> Free use of noticeboard
> Special discounts
> Weekly news roundup
> Unlimited use of discuss
REFLECTIONS OF A TWITTER VIRGIN…. »
"I confess to having been reluctant to embrace Twitter. But I confess myself a bit of a convert. The great TV critic Clive James once said about “Dallas”, “I came to mock but I stayed to pray”. I wouldn’t go that far, but I have found my first two weeks on Twitter (@hmapauljohnston) both fun and informative. It’s been..." READ »
Your comments about this article:
The comments below have not been moderated in advance and are not produced by The Local unless clearly stated. Readers are responsible for the content of their own comments. Comments that breach our terms and conditions will be removed.
Use of his picture for advertising without his express permission was a terrible thing to do.
James Savage
Managing Editor
As it stands with copywrite law, in Sweden at least, any photographer may take a picture of almost anyone (even unawares) in public (normal, uncontroversial public activity), and will automatically own the full distibution rights to the picture, as long as no name is attached to the picture itself (making it a picture of an anonymous person). The photographer may then sell or lease the use of the picture to agencies or directly to publications. It can even end up being resold and passed around, with rights transfered to other parties.
As such, the Greek man would have no claims/rights over his own image, but he could sue for damage to his reputation. It's quite understandable to me, as just about everywhere in the world, people hate being mistaken for being a citizen of a neighboring country--they tend to define themselves by how they are separate and different from their closest neighbors.
I actually find the amount quite low considering the prices they pay worldwide to people being the face of a brand. It is not advertising, it is branding for those who expressed it wrong.
Branding links an image to a product and it is much more powerful for a brand than advertising as it can totally drop the sales if changed because people can fail to recognize the product.
And it definetly is not the point if he was or not famous or if he was or not rich from the beginning. We all have the rights to our image, period.
Only your opinion - not the law in Sweden.
It would be interesting to find out, if he originally had a deal with the Photo Agency for the pic. I'm sure the court papers will be worth a read.
Thank you for enlighting us, we are most obliged.
ie a cut of the profits!
Mikmak - thanks for pointing that out. We have now added that information to the story.
James Savage
Managing Editor
I wonder if you had that version checked out first or you just added it as claimed without confirmation!
It really doesn't protect the right to you image?
Please, I would like to know more about that, would you mind telling me?.
It sounds so stone age for a country like Sweden to not protect people. I am in shock.
And it was not my opinion, it is law in almost any country.