Chicagoist has a good followup on the controversy around the public sculpture in Chicago's Millennium Park (a park that cost Chicagoans $270 million) which photographers were being prevented from taking pictures of (earlier post).
Millennium Park security guards were told to look for "sophisticated equipment and/or tripods as an indication that a photographer might be a professional." And this is where the confusion seems to have begun. The guards, when stumbling upon such professional-looking folk, should have simply asked the photographer if they were a professional and, if the answer was "yes," directed them to the permit office. However, as just about every Web site in the Chicagoland area reported last week, some of them just plain kicked the photographers out with claims of copyrighted public works.
In light of this conduct, community concerns and an "increased understanding of how the public uses the space (including photographers)," the city has recognized the need to re-evaluate these policies. While they do so, they have stopped enforcing the permit requirement, and are focusing on improving their security guard training to ensure both complete understanding of the rules and better communication between guards and the public. City, Chicagoist appreciates your effort to get this situation resolved.
The write-up goes on to talk about how the copyright in the sculpture rests with the sculptor, which still makes no sense. My reading of copyright law says that statues on display in public parks have no copyright — and even if it does, the city has the repsonsibility to clear the rights to the sculpture before putting it where it will get in the way of the photos that Chicagoans take of their public spaces — whether for commercial or noncommercial use.
(Thanks, Rachelle!)
