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.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
RSS