Artists and designers in New York of all kinds have a right to protect their work. Copyright law exists for the purpose of giving them a legal means to do so. If someone else uses an artist’s creation without his or her permission, it often means that the person or entity is profiting off of the work without properly compensating the person who created it. This is what one man alleges in his copyright claim against the Chicago Cubs over a trinket he says he created back in the 1980s.
The man claims that he originally created a souvenir to be sold to Chicago Cubs fans in 1984 when the Cubs almost advanced to the World Series. The souvenirs were pieces of plexiglass that contained an ivy leaf from Wrigley Field’s infamous outfield wall and had the team’s logo. He also alleges that the Cubs wanted to market a version of the same souvenir in 2001 but were unwilling to pay him, so he declined to work with them.
He says that in 2015 when the Cubs were once again close to going to the World Series, he spoke to team representatives about releasing another version of the souvenirs, but the team was not interested. Then, in 2016, the Cubs actually won the World Series ,and the man says that the team released souvenirs that were extremely similar to the ones he’d created. He tried to file a copyright for his souvenirs in 2018, but was unsuccessful. His current copyright suit is requesting damages and he hopes that it will prevent the Cubs from releasing any similar souvenir in the future.
However this particular claim turns out, it shows just how important it is for artists of all mediums to ensure that their work is protected. One of the most effective ways to accomplish that here in New York is by working with an attorney with extensive copyright law knowledge. Artists deserve proper compensation for their creations.