"Dance Steps on Broadway" Sculptor Sues Photographer
Many a tourist and uninhibited local has spent a few minutes tracing the bronze dance steps that pepper Broadway, attempting to replicate the tango, the foxtrot, the rhumba. How many Seattle vacation albums include a photograph of someone doing their best Fred Astaire on Dance Steps on Broadway? (The shoe prints aren't useful as instruction, though - we hear they're randomly placed.)
Built in 1979 after the city tore up Broadway to do some electrical work, the sculpture was pushed by Patricia Fuller, a city program manager interested in incorporating art with public infrastructure. Fuller commissioned sculptor Jack Mackie to produce the steps. It was a radical idea at the time -- people complained that it wasn't art, that art belonged in galleries. KOMO editorialized against it. City engineers warned that people would trip and fall and sue. Seattle has warmed to, it though.
"Dance Steps on Broadway" is one of the most photographed Seattle landmarks.
But it turns out sculptor Jack Mackie isn't so happy about that. Mackie is suing a local photographer for taking a photograph of the installation.
Mike Hipple took a photograph of a woman dancing on Broadway over ten years ago. Some of Mackie's "dance steps" are visible in the photo. Mackie and his lawyers sent Hipple a letter two years ago claiming that the photo infringed on his copyright. Hipple's stock photography company permanently removed the image from their banks, and assumed that would be the end of it.
Unfortunately, Mackie is now suing Hipple for copyright infringement and claiming over $60,000 in damages over the photograph — which, we should point out, shows only a small portion of Mackie's sculpture. This is a photography of a public sidewalk that shows public art paid for by public funds. It would seem that such an image would be covered under fair use, the legal concept that allows a certain amount of reproduction of someone else's work. Fair use allows a book reviewer to run short passages in their reviews, and film critics to show scenes from the films they're critiquing on their websites.
The implications of Mackie's claim are somewhat staggering. The idea that he is owed compensation for anyone who takes a picture of his work would put virtually anyone with a camera at risk of suit. Post a video of yourself dancing on Broadway to Youtube, and Mackie could sue you. Even the picture we used above makes Seattlest a target. The whole thing seems a little overboard to us.
Unfortunately, Mackie seems intent on taking Hipple to court. He feels that the case will be decided in his favor, but going to court costs money, even if you win. Hipple's started a legal defense fund - you can donate to it here.
Check out Mike's photography and his blog.
Update: We got Mackie's side of the story. Read on.
