A German court ruled Wednesday that toymaker Ravensburger can use Leonardo da Vinci's drawing "Vitruvian Man" for its puzzles, in a setback for the Italian state and a Venetian gallery. Rejecting the appeal, the Stuttgart court on Wednesday found that "German courts are neither bound by the prior decision of the Italian court nor prevented from making their own ruling on the matter".

The Italian [state] had demanded a licensing agreement for the commercial use of one of the Renaissance master’s most famous drawings, despite the fact that he died more than 500 years ago, placing his works in the public domain under international copyright law.

The [Italian] plaintiffs argued that a domestic law aimed at protecting Italy’s cultural heritage meant they had the authority to demand agreements with those who profit from culturally significant artworks, even if they are based abroad.

  • General_Effort@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
    2·
    14 days ago

    The law stays in effect in Italy. The state (the ministry of cultural heritage), collects license fees for artworks in public museums, even when copyright law says that they are public domain.

    A German game maker produced a jigsaw puzzle of this famous da Vinci drawing. The Italian ministry demanded 10% of global revenue, but the company only offered 10% of Italian revenue. An Italian court had sided with the ministry. This German court has found that, while it can do what it likes in Italy, the Italian state has no power outside its borders.