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On Thursday morning, the main hearing began at the Market and Patent Court of the Stockholm District Court, where comedian and writer Aron Flam is charged with copyright infringement after using Bertil Almqvist’s work “A Tiger Swedish “on the cover of his book” This is a Swedish tiger “. . On the cover, the tiger does a Nazi salute and wears a swastika.
The original symbol is copyrighted and the other party in the case is the Emergency Management Museum, which owns the rights. The question for the court to assess is whether Aron Flam has infringed copyrights or whether what he created can be judged as a parody of his own copyright.
Aron Flam seemed cohesive when he met reporters outside the courtroom. In his hand he had a copy of his book in his hand.
– I love discussing my work with people who have misunderstood it, says Aron Flam in a comment to DN.
How does it feel to be in the courtroom?
– It is humiliation and pride in equal measure to be here.
Various media outlets were available to cover the trial. Twelve seats were reserved for the public, who could follow the judgment among the public behind glass. Tickets sold out quickly. Outside the Kungsholmen District Court, a man was standing holding a placard with the text: “Aron Flam Defends Freedom of Speech!”
Aron Flam brought a copy of his book “This is a Swedish tiger” with him when the trial began.
Photo: Jessica Gow / TT
Negotiations began when both partners described their position. Marie Andrée, representative and co-founder of the Museum of Emergency Preparedness, claims damages totaling 1.5 million SEK, divided between 750,000 SEK for the museum and 750,000 SEK for Bertil Almqvist’s daughter. In addition, it demands that Aron Flam be prohibited from using the work on all its channels, both on the Internet and in physical form.
Aron Flam denies wrongdoing.
– We believe that what Aron Flam has done should be considered as his own and independent work, they are parodies, said his lawyer Monique Wadsted in the courtroom. He also emphasized that the original work of Bertil Almqvist has a low working height and that therefore the so-called scope of protection is limited.
During the first hours of the trial, the parties disagreed on several occasions about what should be considered valuable for the court’s assessment.
In his factual presentation he reported Prosecutor David Ludvigsson for the reasons why he believes Aron Flam should be convicted of copyright infringement. According to the prosecutor, the crime must have been committed through a series of photographs, published between October 2017 and May 2020 on social media and on Aron Flam’s website. In addition, he has had the book printed and sold. For this reason, Aron Flam has illegally committed the dissemination of the work to the public, says the prosecutor.
The prosecutor read Aron Flam’s posts in chronological order and showed how some of them were divided and spread out. Images initially released showed the tiger in its original form, but after the Emergency Management Museum contacted Aron Flam and threatened legal action, a new variant was developed in which the tiger was fitted with a swastika and gave a Hitler salute.
– In short, it is both the use of the image in its original form and in a modified form that I want to prove if they constitute copyright infringement, said David Ludvigsson.
In July, David Ludvigsson wrote in a press release: “It is a target that ultimately deals with the conflict of principle between freedom of expression and copyright. Now the court must make the final balance between the competing interests in this specific case. “
The play “A Swedish tiger” It was created by artist and illustrator Bertil Almqvist in 1941 and was used in a government campaign during the Swedish emergency years to urge the public to be vigilant. On Almqvist’s death in 1972, the copyright went to his daughters, who in turn donated it to the Emergency Management Museum.
The main hearing will take place on Thursday and can continue on October 1 if necessary.
Marie Andrée has declined to comment before they go down. The text is updated.
Read more:
Now the court will decide if Aron Flam made a punishable tiger
Per Svensson: It would be a scandalous sensation if Aron Flam is sentenced
