The creator of Alix and numerous other bande dessinee has died aged 88. In the fifties he worked for Herge’s studio and was responsible for some of the background in Tintin in Tibet.

One of Hergé’s most important assistants through the 1950s and 60s (notably on the South Sea Sharks and Tintin in Tibet) and one of the pillars of Tintin Magazine, he acrimoniously struck out on his own in 1972 to concentrate on his own comics, which in some ways owed more to the other great master of Belgian adventure comics of the time, E. P. Jacobs.

Source and Copyright: MetaBunker Jacques Martin RIP

Enjoying success in his own right after his creation Alix sprang from the pages of the Tintin magazines to become its own brand, Strasbourg-born Martin plundered Imperial Rome, Egypt and the Napoleonic era for the backdrops to his stories.

Source and Copyright: The Independent Alix creator, Tintin artist Jacques Martin dies aged 88

Alix was a historic comic set around the time of the Roman Empire, travelling the known world at the time. He also created the comic Lefranc in 1952 and collaborated on the medieval architect comic Jhen in 1978, the French revolutionary officer Arno in 1984, Athenian Orion in 1990, Egyptian Keos in 1992, and Loïs in 2004, set in the court of Louis the sun king of France. Alix has continued publication to this date, though due to failing eyesight, Martin delegated artistic duties from Rafeal Morales from 1998.

Source and Copyright: Bleeding Cool Alix Creator Jacques Martin Dies, 88

The owners of Tintin have made an official comment on copyright as an indirect response of the persecution of Tintin fan Bob Garcia. Unfortunately they have completely misrepresented the law of copyright as it stands in the UK and most of Europe.

Some maintain that Moulinsart keeps an iron grip on the rights it has acquired; on the contrary, we are the first to respect the freedom of expression. We have never prevented anyone from writing a book about Tintin, or any other aspect of Hergé’s life and work. We have total respect for authors!

If the author of a book about Tintin wants to illustrate it with pictures or photos taken from the work or life of Hergé, then it is only normal that we ask to read the manuscript first. This is also simply a basic freedom.

If a book is lacking quality or is intentionally negative, it is quite normal for us to feel that we shouldn’t allow the reproduction of frames taken from Hergé’s books, or drawings the author realised: if we were to allow the use of such images, we would give the impression of supporting the work in question….

Every year, hundreds of requests to use one or a number of pictures by Hergé are authorised, … In 2009, less than 10 requests were turned down: … We clearly inform those who would like to use one of Hergé’s drawings about certain rules which they are expected to honour.
(c) Moulinsart

Moulinsart are misrepresenting the law here.

Fair Dealing allows producers of books and other works to incorporate copyright images WITHOUT THE OWNERS PERMISSION. An author does not need seek permission from Moulinsart. An author does not need to send Moulinsart a copy of their work to get it approved. All an author needs to do is ensure that the use of copyright material is limited to a reasonable amount and acknowledge the copyright holder’s ownership.

This does not mean that anyone can grab a picture of Tintin and use it to sell their product. Fair Dealing only applies to reporting and critical analysis. I can use the copyrighted text above without asking permission only because I am analysing what they have said. This legal right places no restrictions on the quality of my work. This article could be rubbish or completely hostile to Moulinsart and I would still enjoy the legal protection of Fair Dealing as long as I limited the text I quote to a reasonable amount.

It is the question of “What is reasonable?” that Bob Garcia appears to have run foul of.

There is no defined legal limits as to how much can be used under Fair Dealing. It could by 10% or it could be 90% depending on the circumstance. Reproducing 100 words from a 200 word article is different from reproducing 100 words from a 100,000 word book.

The use of copyrighted materials also has to be relevant. I can quote the article above because it is relevant to the subject but I could not scatter this article with images of Tintin because they would not be relevant.

What is reasonable is a highly subjective issue and this is where authors and publishers get into trouble.

In the Bob Garcia case, it appears that he was right on the border between acceptable and unacceptable usage. When Moulinsart first sued, Mr Garcia won the initial case based on the idea of Fair Dealing. However Mounlinsart appealed and won.

No one is saying that Moulinsart should not protect their intellectual property rights. No one is saying that everyone should be able to use Tintin images to sell their products. What people are saying is that bankrupting a Tintin fan like Bob Garcia for producing a pamphlet in good faith is heavy handed and mean spirited.

Source: Tintin.com Copyright: the latest from Moulinsart.

Thanks to Boing Boing picking up a two month old article in the Daily Telegraph, Moulinsart’s persecution of Tintin fan Bob Garcia has become a hot topic.

Bob Garcia published two short books about Tintin that included copyrighted images that Mr Garcia used under the concept of Fair Dealing / Use. Moulinsart sued and initially lost, the judge upheld Garcia’s claim that the use of these copyrighted works was acceptable academic practice. However, Moulinsart appealed, Garcia lost and was presented with a £35,000 bill.

Unable to pay the bill and facing bankruptcy, Bob Garcia hoped to make some accommodation with Moulinsart and at first it look promising with Moulinsart making a statement on the situation. “We had the intention to find a solution. It is now discussed between lawyers”. According to Garcia, Moulinsart’s lawyers have never made any attempt at contact.

Since then the bills have continued to pile up for Mr Garcia. Just before Christmas he received a bill for €8000 from his lawyers.

To get a taste of Bob’s work, watch this short video of him being interviewed about the book. It is worth watching even if you don’t speak French, just to see the sort of images that Moulinsart think are a breach of copyright.

Show your support for Bob by joining his Facebook group.