Panaji: The family members of renowned cartoonist late Mario de Miranda will issue legal notice to the Goa government and the local organizers of G20 meetings for use of the late artist’s artwork without taking proper permission, a senior official said on Sunday.
“The family of late Miranda has set up Mario Gallery before he passed away in the year 2011 which looks after his legacy in various ways like publishing books, organizing exhibitions, selling original paintings, authenticating pictures, giving permissions for usage, taking legal action against violators and others,” said Gerard D’Cunha, curator of Mario Gallery.
He said that the late Miranda’s artwork was used during the G20 event without any permission from the Gallery. D’Cunha said that the organizers have used a Mario de Miranda painting on a tile which is used inside a miniature window, which is a gift given to the VIPs.
In another violation, D’Cunha said 16 life-size fiberglass statues were displayed in Old Goa and Dona Paula. “These statues are copied from figurines of artwork developed by the late Miranda,” he said.
D’Cunha said that Mario Gallery would be issuing a legal notice to the State Chief Secretary (Puneet Kumar Goel) and nodal officer of G20 (Sanjith Rodrigues) on Monday, July 03.
He said that the organizers should have approached Mario Gallery and gotten the requisite permission for the usage. “They are intellectual property and it is illegal to use them without consent,” D’Cunha said.
When contacted, G20 Nodal officer Sanjith Rodrigues said “We have done our due diligence. If we are served with the notice, we will respond to it.”
Miranda, hailing from Loutolim village of South Goa near Margao town, died on December 11, 2011. He was awarded Padma Vibhushan posthumously in the year 2012.
