Italy’s Narcissus Quagalita, who is seen by many as the world’s greatest glass artist, has entered discussions with the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KHRTC) over intellectual property rights and royalties concerning his Dome of Light, which is displayed at the Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system’s Formosa Boulevard Station. The talks are focusing on the fact that any use of the artwork for commercial purposes could represent a copyright infringement.
At 30m in diameter and covering an area of about 660 ping (2,180m²), the Dome of Light is in the world’s largest domed underground station.
Quagalita made the piece in cooperation with Derix Glasstudios in Germany. The dome, which is made of 4,500 glass panels, symbolizes rebirth and Taiwan’s democratic process. The four parts that comprise it — water, earth, light and fire — symbolize birth, growth, glory and destruction respectively.
PHOTO: WANG JUNG-HSIANG, TAIPEI TIMES
Located close to where the Kaohsiung Incident occurred, the Formosa Boulevard Station sits at the intersection of the MRT’s red and orange lines.
With the orange line scheduled to begin operations later this month, the KHRTC has developed plans to design and sell souvenirs as well as sell tickets for in-depth tours of Quagalita’s work. Bridal companies have also been lining up to use it as a location for wedding photos.
As the KHRTC only has ownership rights and that any commercial use of the dome involves intellectual property rights, negotiations must be held with the original designer to avoid any copyright infringement.
KHRTC general manager Fan Chen-po (范陳柏) said that such proceedings were international practice and that it was only natural for the KHRTC to follow intellectual property rights and copyright legislation.
The company said its main concern remained ensuring that the work of art does not get damaged or destroyed by visitors.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial
RSS