Logo on election sign not his to use: Day
SUSSEX CORNER A mayoral candidate for the upcoming municipal election here may have gotten himself in hot water.
Signs touting Peter Wiggins for mayor have, in the opinion of a patent and trademark law expert, misused village property.
Joe Day, the lawyer and Canadian senator from Hampton, is also a certified specialist in Intellectual Property Matters by the Law Society of Upper Canada and a Fellow of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada. He said the use of Sussex Corner's property in this way, without consent, could be a problem for Wiggins both legally and ethically.
"I think you could make a very strong argument, if the Village wanted to, that he has breached their copyright," he said. "Whether they've registered it or not, they own the property and he's taken that...and using for his own purposes and his own gain."
The campaign sign in question uses a photograph of a portion of one of two Welcome to the Village of Sussex Corner signs erected in the early 1990s. The image/logo is also on the village website (www.sussexcorner.com) in the top left-hand corner.
"If you take the essence of somebody's copyright and if you take the essence of the overall welcome sign by using a stylized portion in the middle, can you avoid copyright? You do not."
The mayor in Sussex Corner at the time the signs were purchased was Wayne Brown. He said the signs are definitely the property of Sussex Corner.
Day said there would likely have to have been a resolution of council to grant Wiggins permission to use the image in his campaign, which would be somewhat strange. "It looks like he has the sanction of the village to do that and he doesn't," Day said.
Village Clerk Don Smith confirmed that to his knowledge, Wiggins did not get approval from council to use the village's image. When contacted about the signs, Wiggins, the village's acting mayor, said he had no ulterior motive. The only impression he wanted to give residents was an aesthetically pleasing one. "I figured if I'm going to put up something in the community, it should look rather nice," he said.
Wiggins first indicated he would remove the signs, but had a change of heart after consulting with Elections New Brunswick. Wiggins said he was told by Elections NB he isn't breaking any rules under the Municipal Elections Act.
Assistant electoral officer Ann McIntosh said Elections NB doesn't govern what candidates have on their signs and whether it may infringe on copyright.
"That's just beyond the scope of anything in the elections [act]," she said.
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Comments (21)
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I wonder who called the Record to get this non-story going?
But who died and made Liberal Senator Joe Day the copyright police????
If Senator Day was asked by someone in the village for an opinion, then would they come forward and confirm? If not, the I agree with comment #1 do the Liberals fear Wiggins or any perceived links he may have to the Torys.
Again it is nothing more than someone sticking their nose in where it doesn't belong, and where it isn't wanted.
If Municipal Campaigns became 'Artistic Competitions', the entire CAMPAIGNING concepts would loose focus on thier objectives.
You are in desparate need of a leader... In the mean time, I must say, it's time to grow up!!!
If it were your neighbors, you'd be outraged...
Either way, negative publicity, is publicity!
No one called to complain about the sign, it was something noticed by me, the author of this article. A newspaper does not have to wait for someone to complain before doing a story.
In the bigger picture, it wouldn't have mattered whose sign it was. A candidate doing the same thing in Sussex, Hampton, Norton, or anywhere else in the areas we report on would have received the same coverage.
A lot of the writers above seem to be missing the point --- Mr Wiggins used property that was not his to further his campaign, and that is clearly wrong. Just because there is nothing in the elections act about what can go on an election sign doesn't mean the copyright issue goes away.
What I find curious is that Mr Wiggins is a teacher, and above every photocopier in District 6 is a sign that warns people using the machines of the laws governing the use and misuse of other people's intellectual and creative property. That tells me he is or should be well aware of copyright infringement issues.
So the question is, do you want this guy to be the mayor?