Yes Album Cover Artist Roger Dean Sues James Cameron Over ‘Avatar’

http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/stop-t...r-artist-roger-dean-sues-james-012401832.html

Artist Roger Dean, whose artwork graced the cover of Yes's Close to the Edge and dozens of other albums, has sued filmmaker James Cameron and 20th Century Fox, claiming that images featured in the film Avatar are a little too close to Dean's original artwork.

In the suit filed in New York late last month, Dean accuses Cameron of "willful and deliberate copying, dissemination and exploitation" of his original artwork in Avatar, which just happens to be the highest-grossing film of all time. Our inquiry to 20th Century Fox for comment on the suit wasn't immediately returned.

In the complaint, filed under the artist's full name, William Roger Dean, he's seeking more than $50 million in damages. Aside from his famed album covers, Dean's fantasy landscapes have been exhibited around the world and he also drew up a film proposal based on his artwork that he shopped at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, according to Deadline.com.

The suit says that Avatar's land of Pandora features "floating mountains" and "stone arches" that are copied from his paintings of the same names, and the "Hometree" from the film is copied from his "Pathways" and "Floating Jungle" paintings. "The similarities of each such work are substantial, continuing, and direct so as to rule out any accidental copying or similarity to the Plaintiff's Works that Defendants and others employed in preparation of the film must have had access to the Plaintiffs Works," says one part of the 17-page complaint.

Dean wants more than just money. He's also seeking an injunction and wants full accounting and a court order to be posted online noting that the defendants stole his work. He's also after a piece of future Avatar projects, including two sequels and a possible prequel and an Avatar-themed attraction at Walt Disney World. The suits says those future projects "are very likely to utilize many of the original images of the Plaintiff which would further continue Defendants breach of contractual obligations owed to Plaintiff."


Good luck to Roger.

 

Hmmm… I thought Mount Flatten pre-dated Roger Dean…

 

Snowball's chance, Mr. Dean.

 

This could be interesting - it was my impression that Avatar sailed far too close to Roger Dean's art.

 

I'm sorry, but this is dumb as hell, and shows how money hungry this guy is.

 

Not so sure about that - he has a right to his unusual ideas and artwork.

 

But these ideas that he's suing over aren't at all credible. As if he's the only person to ever think of floating landscapes. What, is he going to sue Gorillaz for their floating windmill in the El Manana video next?

 

Have you compared the visuals of the cover to Keys To Ascension and Yessongs to the floating garden scenes yet? When I saw these, I thought that they must have paid Roger Dean for copying his artwork. It's not just similar - the artwork is nearly a carbon copy.

 

I have a copy of Roger Dean's book "Views" on my coffee table and when friends look at it they say its a rip off Avatar. Then I show them the print date of the book and ask, "who ripped off who?"

 

If anyone knows differently I'd like to hear, but to the best of my knowledge how can you claim something ins "your image." A floating moutain? How about a Brillo box? How about a melting clock? Don Quixote riding a broken horse? You know it gets into a very tricky area trying to say an "image" is yours. How about a psychedelic mushroom or skull? How can you lay claim to owning a vision? Avatar is about a place where anti-gravity material exists. How else could you portray a world that floats without showing an "island in space" of some sort?

 

When we walked out of Avatar the first thing I said to my wife was, "I hope Cameron paid Roger Dean for using his landscapes". It's pretty obvious that the concepts came from his covers and paintings. Even if it wasn't deliberate plagiarism it's too close to be called original.

 

I believe they are copies, but $50 Million is a lot of dough for set design. I'm not familiar enough with this area of law to know how good his case is, though.

 

Both sides have merit but this isn't just a case of Roger thinking his work and ideas were stolen - he has to prove a direct connection or prove he is the only person who thought of this concept and defended it previous to this case. That is goingt to be tough.

I understand how people on this site as well as other music fans would be well versed in Roger Dean's work and would think he originated the idea of his images. However, I don't think that is the truth when you look at the body of science fiction artwork over the last 100 years. And that isn't including the concept of floating islands from other fictional work over the last 100 years. Roger's work is original and he executes them in a unique style. The proof however, I think, is in connecting Cameron to Roger directly.

I'm not a lawyer but I was an artist. On that basis I think I'm comfortable saying there is influence and there is direct copying and one of them you can be successful in suing.

I can create a similar looking image in a completely different way and in a completely different medium with enough changes to the work and be accused of non originality but I'm not a thief. What I can say is that the image of Vermeer's Girl with a pearl earring inspired me to repaint it in a completely differnet way and with a completely different model. I'm boring and unoriginal but I'm not stealing, I'm inspired. Clearly I've seen the work and I've copied ideas from it. This is what I think Cameron will say he has done.

But if I copy it directly and completely to the point it is almost indistinguishable from the original artwork and then sell it, I'm taking money away from the original artist (or the estate)and I'm a thief. There is also a case to be made that a an inspired work is original in execution but close enough to the original that it takes enough money away from the original artist AND impares their ability to earn money from their original idea (think Little Richard and Pat Boone) and that is a case. I don't think Roger has a case on either basis. His artwork is created in a completely different medium from Cameron's and he has the ability to earn money from his work. I think Cameron's lawyers will have an easy time defending influence over theft of intellectual property.

I bet we have some contract lawyers here who will add or counter this argument?

I believe it will come down to lawyers who will make the most money out of this case. It will be many years down the road when the result comes in.

Not to hijack the thread but if you want a clear case of plagarism, check out Bob Dylan's latest exhibition of paintings. I love Bob for his music but that is theft AND being unoriginal. It's also just plain boring.

 

I think in an unguarded moment Cameron said that Dean's paintings were an influence on him. But $50m seems silly. And if Cameron's lawyers can prove that floating mountains and cities are part of the more general world of science fiction, like space ships and so on, then it might be difficult to make the case. Could be wrong, but I think I might have seen some floating mountains on the cover of some old sci fi magazines from before 1960...

 

I think Roger Dean has a case. When I went to see the movie, many of the visuals struck me as though they were an effort to create photorealistic versions of his artwork. My wife and I BOTH remarked on it. It was honestly the first thing I thought of when I saw it, and I think that says a lot. It's not as if there are MANY similar pieces of artwork by many artists that evoke the same thought. They were not only dramatic and angular, but also surreal with respect to how they didn't follow a lot of natural rules and essentially have an "alien" quality because they are just not possible in nature... at least on Earth. In some instances, I think that's VERY specific and the inspiration is undeniable. The real question is... does this go somewhat beyond inspiration? I think it might... some of the images have a very strong resemblance to Dean's work. You start piling those things up and it begins to look like he's the creative director by proxy.

 

In most cases, $50 million MIGHT seem silly. OTOH, Avatar made tons of money and relied HEAVILY on what Dean claims is his. Nearly the entire picture was set in a fantasy world that looks like a Yes album. And, btw, I think that the look of this movie IS ESSENTIAL to its success. If it had been executed in any other way, it's hard to say that it would have been received in the same way. Cameron is entitled to his, but I don't think that Roger Dean is making a baseless claim. Had he not filed suit, I think just about anybody would admit that Avatar's visuals bear a very strong resemblance to his artwork.

I'd not be at all surprised to see a settlement that did something like give Dean a credit and some $$$ for the upcoming sequels.

 

He is probably hoping to settle out of court for $50,000

 

Until now I thought that Cameron had hired Dean for Avatar. I certainly hope that Mr. Dean wins a fair settlement.

 

The movie landscape and imagery is filled with multiple Roger Dean images from beginning to end. The imagery repeated and repeated in numerous forms makes this something very different than the copying of a single image. The movie is a wholesale rip off of Roger in my opinion. There are so many cases over the time of viewing of the film that one can't avoid understanding that the "look and feel" of the movie is unmistakably Roger Dean's world. It seems impossible that this film could have been created without a purposeful study and direct usage of Roger Dean's artwork. Put it in front of a jury! Imitation the greatest form of flattery? Take a bow, Roger......and nail them!!!

 

Owner of a floating part?

 

Until I saw this thread I just assumed Cameron contracted Dean to participate in set design/concept. I've never seen the movie, but just from images seen online, how could any classic rock fan not immediately make the connection?

Wonder why Dean took so long to sue, unless his attorneys wanted to wait and see how much the flm was worth in dollars-n-cents. The lift is pretty obvious to me, but Cameron can prolly outlast Dean in court; that guy is flu$h.

 

I had the same reaction while viewing it - it looked like a Yes album cover.

 

Moaner of a floating art?

 

Cameron's been sued before for taking ideas, as mentioned here in this article http://www.scribd.com/doc/71012648/The-Terminator-Plagiarism-Charge-by-Harlan-Ellison. Harlan Ellison at least wanted some sort of recognition.