Copyright Stupidity: The Big Bean

This story on /. discusses the latest bit of copyright idiocy.

Evidently, an artist was given the rights to create a giant, shiny metal structure in the middle of a public park in Chicago. Fair enough, but this guy thinks that anyone that takes pictures of it should have to payhim to do so. Wow.

An excerpt:

“Photographers taking pictures of the sculpture have been charged money by the city. The park district is claiming that pictures of the park violate the designers’ and artists’ copyrights. Quoth Karen Ryan, the press director for the park’s project, “The copyrights for the enhancements in Millennium Park are owned by the artist who created them. As such, anyone reproducing the works, especially for commercial purposes, needs the permission of that artist.”

So let me get this straight — the idea was to put a gargantuan fucking shiny thing in the middle of a public park (something that’s bound to attract a bit of attention), and then charge the public to take pictures of the thing?

There are only two options here; either 1. The artist didn’t want anyone to see his 110 ton metal thing, thought it was going into someone’s private home, and at the last moment the city switched it on him and put it in the middle of a public hotspot. If that’s the case then the city owes the artist some money. Or, 2. The artist knew the giant, metal shiny thing was going to end up right where it is, and was hoping no one would notice the whole “can’t take pictures” thing until it was already in. If that’s the case, then he’s an idiot crook who should be stuffed in a container and shot at the sun.

Either way, this is the sort of abject stupidity that should be seen by a single elected city official and banned within 45 seconds. The fact that this hasn’t happened, and that there are people in high places debating the issue, is quite scary.