Outspoken indigenous artist Richard Bell has won a $169,224 payout after suing an American woman for control over film footage for an artwork called The Blackfella’s Guide to New York.
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And while he still faces an upcoming court battle in America he says he’s determined to push on with the film, shooting it again from scratch with Australian colleagues.
The internationally acclaimed artist took Tanya Steele to the Federal Court to establish his copyright over video footage shot in New York.
Last month the court entered a default judgement in his favour when Steele failed to defend the case, ruling he owned the copyright for the work. Now he’s been awarded $147,000 in damages for lost art sales plus $22,224 in legal costs.
In 2010, Bell hired Steele to help him shoot a film which would explore New York with an indigenous eye, paying her with a painting and $4000.
But Steele, a Brooklyn-based filmmaker, claimed ownership of 18 hours of raw footage and the pair have been embroiled in an international legal dispute since.
Late last year, Steele and her lawyers threatened legal action against Bell’s agent, gallery owner Josh Milani, after he uploaded a short trailer for the film on to his Milani Gallery website and Facebook page.
Her attorney also demanded that Mr Milani withdraw an art catalogue from sale because it contained a still from the trailer.
Mr Milani was forced to remove the trailer from the web, delay the sale of the art catalogue and put a freeze on a touring exhibition of Bell’s work.
The Federal Court heard Steele’s legal threats curtailed efforts to publicise and exhibit Bell’s paintings and led to an estimated loss of $243,000 in sales.Bell's lawyer, John Swinson, of King & Wood Mallesons, won a court order declaring that Steele's legal threats were groundless and unjustifiable.
The artist, an outspoken figure whose bold pieces hang in the National Gallery of Australia, said yesterday that he was relieved the Australian court case was over.
Bell is no stranger to controversy, causing a stir in 2011 when he said he flipped a coin to judge the winner of the $20,000 Sulman Prize.
A portrait of him by gay activist Luke Roberts is also shortlisted for this year's Archibald Prize.
Bell said The Blackfella's Guide to New York was to be a tongue-in-cheek view of the city from an indigenous viewpoint, looking at "New York and New Yorkers from an anthropological perspective".
He said he now planned to re-shoot the film with an Australian cameraman and producer.
"I'm pretty happy the finishing line is in sight and looking forward to getting on with actually making the film," he said.
Mr Swinson said he would seek to have his client's payout enforced against Steele in New York.
He said his client still faced an American lawsuit over the film footage but the Federal Court ruling would strengthen the defence's case.
Intellectual property lawyer Jonathan Reichman will represent Bell in the New York courts.
