Kosta Boda and the designer established a fixed-term contract which meant that Wolff’s copyright, two percent for each lantern, would expire after ten years. An agreement that was then standard for the industry.
It wasn’t until Wolff read about a change in Swedish copyright legislation at the beginning of the year that she got the idea to approach the group about retroactive pay for the design.
– I thought it sounded interesting, that I might be able to get something going, Ann Wolff says The Guardian.
Her proposal to the company was to use the royalties she was not paid for to establish an award or scholarship for young female glass artists, which would also mark the 50th anniversary of the iconic design.
A royalty is a payment to holders of intellectual property rights, such as patent holders, and is paid for using a work or using a patent. Royalties can be paid directly in the form of a lump sum and can be paid out afterwards, taking into account how much revenue the work brings in.
Kosta Boda says no
Kosta Boda did not take up the artist’s proposal.
After a meeting between Wolff and the CEO later in the year, the company instead offered her a one-off payment of SEK 400,000 and four percent in royalties on resale.
The requirement? They wanted permission to manufacture the transparent candle holder in yellow, blue and red. That proposal did not go down well with Ann Wolff.
– It was out of the question, because snowballs are not red. If we are going to make a deal, it should be a fair one, she tells The Guardian.
If Wolff had continued to receive two percent in royalties on all 15 million snowballs sold, she would have made between 10 and 15 million, according to her lawyer’s estimates. Which would still be a relatively low average by today’s standards.
The best seller clause
In 2019, a new EU directive was formed, called the “Best Seller Clause”. It now makes it possible for artistic creators to seek compensation after the fact for works that have become unexpected bestsellers.
The new copyright law was only implemented this year in most of the 27 member states. The extent to which it can be applied, however, varies from country to country. In Sweden, it only applies to agreements entered into on January 1, 2003 or later.
The lawyer Katarina Renman Claesson, who represents Ann Wolff, claims, however, that the new copyright clause establishes a principle that marks the unfairness of the agreement that Ann Wolff signed with Kosta Boda in 1973.
The case may become historic in Sweden as a test of the new bestseller clause, and lead to more similar cases, writes The Guardian.
– We have great respect for Wolff, for her efforts for Kosta Boda and beyond, and we will await the verdict from the competent Swedish courts, says Filip Trulsson, Kosta Boda’s commercial manager to the newspaper.