Limpballs Sued For Illegal Use Of Artist's Work
Tempest
HANOVER, N.H. - A New Hampshire artist has sued Rush Limbaugh, saying
the radio host used his work without permission.
Doug Henry of Hanover said Limbaugh stopped paying to use his
illustrations of Limbaugh after Henry suggested last year that the two
publish a coffee-table book of the works.
Henry's depictions of Limbaugh have graced 67 covers of "Limbaugh
Letter," a newsletter. He has worked for Limbaugh for nearly four
years as the commentator's cover artist.
In his lawsuit filed in federal court this week, Henry is asking a
judge to confirm his ownership of the artwork he did for Limbaugh and
to order Limbaugh to stop using it unless he pays first. Henry is also
seeking unspecified damages from Limbaugh.
A letter from Limbaugh's art director that is part of the court file
spells out the contract Henry worked under. It says "Limbaugh Letter"
would pay to use Henry's work just once and that he would own the
artwork and the copyright.
When Limbaugh's staff wanted to use the same illustration a second or
third time, they paid Henry again, according to receipts included with
the lawsuit.
Henry usually earned $2,000 for each cover and $400 to $700 when the
company wanted to use the same piece again. He said the agreement
worked well until last year, after he wrote Limbaugh about the
coffee-table book and other side projects.
Henry wanted to make more money off the works and offered to sell them
to Limbaugh if he didn't want to collaborate on the book, according to
court records.
Neither Henry nor his attorney would say what the asking price was for
the whole collection. Limbaugh's attorney, Kenneth Swezey of New York
City, called it "unreasonable" in a letter last year. Swezey said
Henry had no right to use the illustrations because they belonged to
Limbaugh. He said the artwork was based on a photograph of Limbaugh,
and the rights to that photo belong to Limbaugh and his company.
A call to Swezey was not immediately returned Friday afternoon.
Henry said his illustrations have appeared in subsequent issues of
"Limbaugh Letter" and on Limbaugh's Web site.
"Ultimately, Doug's claims boil down to fairness," said Henry's
lawyer, Alexander Walker. "Doug is looking for the folks who publish
this to honor the terms of the agreement they signed, and they have
failed to honor that."