Iceland fishing firm wins UK lawsuit against artist over fake bribery apology

Icelandic fishing company Samherji on Thursday won its lawsuit against an artist over a fake apology for its role in Namibia’s biggest corruption scandal.

The London’s High Court ruled in the company’s favour without a trial.

Samherji sued Oddur ‘Odee’ Fridriksson for copyright infringement and malicious falsehood after the artist published a false public apology in May 2023 on a website he created, which used Samherji’s logo and branding.

The website purported to apologise on Samherji’s behalf over allegations that the company bribed Namibian officials in exchange for horse mackerel fishing quotas, allegations Samherji denies.

Samherji argued the website was designed to deceive people and breached its copyright, asking a judge to rule in its favour at a hearing in September.

Fridriksson, however, said ruling against him would be an unlawful interference with his rights to freedom of expression.

He described the website as an example of “culture jamming” which was designed to spark public debate, citing The Yes Men’s 2004 hoax in which they posed as spokespeople for Dow Chemical and were interviewed live on the BBC.

Judge Paul Teverson ruled that Fridriksson had “no real prospect at trial of successfully defending the claimant’s claims”.

“I consider that this claim ought to be disposed of at this stage without the costs of a trial,” Teverson said in his written ruling.

“The defendant’s artwork has been performed. His hoax has taken place.”

Teverson said he was inclined to grant Samherji an injunction requiring Fridriksson to give it control of the website. He also said he thought the payment of “a small sum” would cover any damage done to Samherji.

Samherji did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Andra Matei, director of Avant-Garde Lawyers who assisted Fridriksson, said in a statement that “this decision has only furthered our resolve to take this fight all the way to the very end”.

Fridriksson’s website was part of an artwork entitled ‘We’re Sorry’, which was released three years after Samherji said it was withdrawing from Namibia following the bribery allegations.

The alleged scheme, which was exposed by Wikileaks, began in 2014 and included relatives of the ministers and officials, according to documents it posted online.
– Reuters