By introducing fines, the court has made an example out of one agency in particular, Visit Today, which has been caught advertising overpriced VIP tickets to the Galleria dell’Accademia where David is exhibited, with his image on its flyers and website, the Italian media outlets reported. The company is obliged to take the image off all its marketing products and pay as much as 2,000 euros for every day it fails to comply with the ruling.
"It’s a precedent and a model," said the museum’s director, Cecilie Hollberg. "Many other museums that are also victims of the plague of overpriced ticket selling can now take this legal route, because the law will triumph over what is effectively a scam for visitors."
The Galleria dell’Accademia is the only institution authorized to make use of David’s image, which means commercial companies are obliged to ask for the gallery’s formal consent to do so.
Experts point to the fact that the case may be the first of many. Other Italian landmark sites, like the Duomo, for example, will potentially follow suit and also take harsh measures against the unlicensed use of their images.
"Florence’s image must not be commercially exploited without limits or rules," said the city’s mayor, Dario Nardella, stressing that it’s high time that the authorities put their foot down.
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