Court: Olomouc violated copyright by exchanging lamps in the square

Olomouc - The Olomouc City Hall violated the rights of the authors of its reconstruction during the lamp exchange in the historical center of the city two years ago, according to the court. However, the city does not have to return the original lamps to the Upper Square. The architect Jan Šépka, who participated in the project of the square's reconstruction and sued the city over the lamp exchange, is to be paid 100,000 crowns and receive an apology from the city. This was decided today by the Olomouc Regional Court. The city will appeal the ruling to the High Court. Šépka is also considering an appeal.

"The author's rights (to the reconstruction of the Upper Square) were violated. The exchange of Thorn lamps for Philips UrbanStar on the Upper Square has interfered with the artistic conception of the work and diminished its value," stated judge Martina Telcová. Šépka argued in the lawsuit that the installation of UrbanStar luminaires violated the author's rights to the restoration of the city center. He requested in court that the lighting of the Upper Square be restored to its original state, which he did not succeed in achieving, as it would be technically very demanding and costly, according to the judge. However, the city must pay Šépka 100,000 crowns according to the court. The ruling also includes an apology from the mayor of Olomouc.

The mayor of Olomouc, Antonín Staněk (ČSSD), told reporters today that the city hall would appeal the ruling. "We perceive this lawsuit as a dispute over whether property rights, in this case the rights of the statutory city and its citizens, will be subordinate to copyright. I believe that even the Constitution of the Czech Republic speaks about property rights being superior to copyright," Staněk pointed out. According to him, the outcome of the lawsuit will also be important in terms of future modifications to the Upper Square.

Šépka told ČTK that he is only partially satisfied with the ruling. "I am of course glad that the court recognized that there was damage to the author's work. I think that is a very fundamental issue," stated Šépka. At the same time, he does not understand why the court did not order the city to restore the lighting of the Upper Square to its original state. "If the work was damaged, then logically, the one who damaged it should return it to its original state," believes Šépka, who will therefore consider appealing.

After the completion of the reconstruction of the Upper Square in 2001, it was discovered that the lamps installed at that time, Thorn, were not very bright, yet the city hall left them there. Two years ago, the fixtures were already quite worn out, so the city came up with a proposal to install brighter UrbanStar lamps, which are on the neighboring Lower Square.

However, the planned lamp exchange displeased both conservationists and the authors of the reconstruction of the Upper Square, who advocated for the original lamps proposed in the city center repair project. Instead, the city acquired Thorn posts in 2001, which the project authors later agreed upon.

The court issued a preliminary measure in July two years ago due to the dispute over the appearance of the lighting and prohibited the planned lamp exchange until the dispute was resolved. However, Šépka did not file a lawsuit in time, so the city was able to quickly replace the lamps in September 2014. The city hall paid nine million CZK for the 33 original Thorn lamps 15 years ago.