Heritage committee chair flouts city trademark
Committee head sells photograph of Wildcat for $1 in front of city hall to protest local artist threatened with legal action
Cody Punter
Northern News Services
Published Friday, July 18, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The chair of Yellowknife's heritage committee threw his support behind a local artist who was recently forced to hand over $2,000 worth of merchandise to the city by selling a photograph of the Wildcat Cafe for $1 in front of city hall on Wednesday morning.
Mike Vaydik, chair of Yellowknife's heritage committee, right, sells second-generation Yellowknifer Gary Tees a photo of the Wildcat Cafe in front of city hall on Wednesday morning. Vaydik said he was protesting the city's confiscation of $2,000 worth of T-shirts, which depicted a painting of the Wildcat Cafe, in an attempt to protect its trademark of the popular restaurant. - Cody Punter/NNSL photo |
Mike Vaydik told Yellowknifer he was horrified to hear that painter Nick MacIntosh was threatened with legal action if he did not agree to hand over more than 100 T-shirts depicting one of his many paintings of the Wildcat Cafe earlier this week.
"I'm quite upset about it and this is a demonstration of my determination to fight that ruling and hopefully get the young fellow re-established in his pursuit," said Vaydik, adding he remembers sneaking into the abandoned Wildcat to play there when he was growing up
According to a cease and desist letter sent to MacIntosh, the Wildcat Cafe became a legally registered trademark of the city in 2012. The letter said that by trying to profit from merchandise depicting the Wildcat without the city's permission, MacIntosh was infringing on its legal claim to the historic restaurant.
Regardless of its legal entitlement to the Wildcat brand, Vaydik said the city's actions were out of line.
"Is this 1930s in Germany? Next we'll be burning books," he said.
Vaydik added that he was concerned the city was spending taxpayers money to go after local artists.
"I don't understand how these people at city hall have nothing better to do than to sit in their office and come up with these things," he said.
In a recent interview with Yellowknifer, Kerry Penney, manager of legal services, said she could not say what it was specifically about the T-shirt that made the city threaten legal action against MacIntosh. MacIntosh suggested the fact it showed mice eating inside the restaurant may have been what set the city off. However, he quickly dismissed the idea as nonsensical.
"It would take a total simpleton or a moron to think that there's mice there," he said.
While Penney could neither confirm or deny MacIntosh's suspicions, she advised artists to get the city's permission before depicting the Wildcat in their work.
Vaydik doesn't consider himself an artist but decided to ignore the warning to make a point.
"I'm asserting ... that it's perfectly legal to take a picture of the Wildcat and sell it," he said.
"Anything that gets Yellowknife heritage some publicity in a good light - in a positive light - is perfectly acceptable and should be encouraged not discouraged."
Vaydik sold the photograph, which clearly displays the Wildcat's logo on the sign in front of it, to second-generation Yellowknifer Gary Tees. Tees said he happened to be leaving city hall when he bumped into Vaydik. He didn't see the purchase as a protest and said he planned to give the photograph to his daughter who is currently visiting from Edmonton.
"I think she'll really appreciated having this picture," said Tees.
