Dispute over Copyright on “Body Exploration” Traveling Exhibit.　Human Body’s Specimens are under the Suspicion of counterfeiting Other’s Creations Germany Doctor Gunther von Hagens has Filed a Complaint.

Germany doctor Gunther von Hagens has filed a complaint against the “Body Exploration” Traveling Exhibit in Taichung City for its suspicion of imitating human body’s specimens, and he also submitted the assessment report issued by Economic Development Commission, indicating that the exhibit imitated the original artist’s creativity of “art.” However, the public holds different opinions about whether the exhibit of human body’s specimens belongs to art, or science.

 

Gunther von Hagens, who invented human body plasticizing technique, considered that six of the thirty human body’s specimens exhibited in the “Body Exploration” Traveling Exhibit in Taichung City are identical to his original creativity on their postures. After Taiwan Economic Development & Research Academy conducted an assessment, six human body’s specimens exhibited in “Body Exploration” have the suspicion of counterfeiting the original creativity. Among these human body’s specimens, five of them are “reproduction,” most of which are similar in appearance and postures with the original ones. Another one is “modified production”, namely, they refer to the original creation and add their own creativity to produce the specimen.    

 

The prosecutor in charge expressed that all human beings’ thoughts shall be under protection, thus the Copyright Act was enacted so as to protect creations of science, education, and art, and the said act stipulated that authors have the rights to display their art works in public. However, the key point of this case is to verify what category of human body specimens shall belong.

 

The defendant’s company made a statement expressing that Gunther von Hagens is the first ancestor of human body plasticizing technique, but his patent right has expired. The patent right used by human body plasticizing technique that exhibited in “Body Exploration” is from America and thus is irrelevant with Gunther von Hagens. In addition, human body specimens are application of dissection knowledge, not object of copyright. (2005.6)

CYJ/CHA