2002 | Tokyo-Ikebukuro
My institution allows its customers to design the faces of their bank cards. I thought I would use this picture – simple, universal in a way, a little bit of fun and color to pull out of my wallet.
But my proposal was rejected, because it was seen as a “logo” and was therefore protected by copyright. I tried to explain that “ICE CUBES” is all over the place without the © and that the characters were katakana, a direct translation. To me, it seemed to be a public domain slam dunk. I was refused again, so I went off in another direction using a view of San Diego’s Mission Bay© and a Torrey© pine tree.
You just never know.