Artist Loses Copyright Lawsuit, Ordered to Pay Half a Million Kroner

Danish artist Niels Strøbek must pay 500,000 Danish kroner after losing a lawsuit over the use of his artwork in a book. Strøbek had sued Gyldendal, which acquired Strandberg Publishing, alleging copyright infringement in the 2024 book "Portraits of a Queen" by art critic Peter Michael Hornung.

The book featured five portraits of Queen Margrethe created by Strøbek between 1975 and 2020. Strøbek sought to prevent Gyldendal from selling the book, demanding its recall and destruction, along with 100,000 kroner in damages.

Gyldendal had obtained permission from VISDA, an organization representing visual artists, before publishing the book. Strøbek, however, claimed he had never signed up for VISDA's individual rights management scheme. He asserted his right as an artist to approve or reject the use of his works.

Gyldendal countered by pointing out that Strøbek had received payments from VISDA 14 times since 2012. The court found that Strøbek had indeed enrolled in the scheme and saw no evidence of error on VISDA's part. Consequently, Gyldendal and VISDA were acquitted, and Strøbek was ordered to cover the legal costs.