Giant duck row in Dubai

It may all seem a bit silly in the first place. Even the whole idea might seem rather ridiculous to some. But there are some real issues in this matter that deserve a word or two.
A giant yellow duck that visited Dubai earlier in the week and was launched on the creek on Sunday is a major infringement of the work of a Dutch artist, Florentijn Hofman, the artist behind a similar giant duck which has toured the world claims. The duck was commissioned by Dubai-based carwash firm GeoWash in China to raise awareness of water consumption, the company said, whilst at the same time promote the company's own "green and mobile" carwash systems.
The award-winning Dutch artist created his duck as a "global artwork" and it has visited numerous harbours around the world including Amsterdam, Sydney, Osaka, Sao Paulo and Pittsburgh. Reportedly, more than a million people have visited the duck.
In a press released to local and regional media, GeoWash stated that this was the duck that had visited just those places thus implying that it was in fact the Dutch artwork being displayed on Dubai Creek. They also made intensive use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter.
When Mr. Hofman contacted the company, their tweets were deleted and the Facebook page removed. 
According to 7Days, Hofman is currently seeking legal counsel over the infringement of his rights which he feels GeoWash have violated. Hofman says he was already in talks with people in Dubai about having his duck visiting, plans which he now had to cancel.
The CEO of GeoWash, Abdullah Al Shehi, said that Hofman had been "mistakenly" claimed by GeoWash to be the designer of and the artist behind the duck. The company bought the duck in China and it was towed to Dubai directly from there. It did not visit any other ports, Al Sheni claimed.

Problems with infringement of copyright and other rights is a major problem in the UAE and foreign companies and right-owners face a hard time pursuing and enforcing claims against violators based in the emirates. I am personally in the process of trying a claim against a local solicitor who has been using one of my photos for advertising purposes and I have come to realise that unfortunately fighting for your rights can be very much an uphill battle in the emirates.


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