Dreadlock: Artist sues Bob Marley estate
By Donna Goodison - Boston Herald
Saturday, July 5, 2008 -

When Jürek Zamoyski was growing up in Communist Poland, reggae star Bob Marley’s songs of freedom as a voice for the oppressed and poor resonated with the artist.
“His ideals were very heartwarming for us,” said Zamoyski, 58, who immigrated to the United States in 1978 and lives in Great Barrington. “Bob Marley was always someone so important, a person who contributes so much to change this world and contributes goodwill.”
So it pains Zamoyski that he’s now suing Marley’s estate and the music and clothing companies run by his family for copyright infringement.
In documents filed in U.S. District Court in Springfield this week, Zamoyski alleges that Fifty-Six Hope Road Music Ltd., Bob Marley Music Inc. and Zion Rootswear are reproducing three of his copyrighted portraits of Marley on T-shirts and other items that are being sold worldwide without his permission.
“It’s kind of an ethical question for me, starting this whole case with the lawyers,” Zamoyski said. “But on the other hand, I don’t see any other way, because when I approached them, they refused to talk to me.”
The images in question - “Rasta Dreads,” “Lion Zion” and “Kaya Man” - were painted by Zamoyski from 1994 to 1996 using an airbrush and traditional brush on canvas and silk.
In the mid-1990s, Zamoyski licensed the images to Jurek International Graphics, an Illinois company run by friends that struck agreements with the Marley companies to use them on shirts and other merchandise. In turn, Zamoyski received royalty payments.
“I made about 10 designs altogether,” said Zamoyski, the first artist to do a non-photographic Penthouse cover in 1986 and whose Jerry Garcia portraits are used on Grateful Dead products. “These three . . . kind of became Bob Marley classic designs.”
In 1999, though, Jurek International Graphics ceased operations. The company informed him that it had terminated the agreements with the Marley companies, and that no other products using his artwork would be distributed or produced, court documents state.
But a few years later, while living in Arizona, Zamoyski met Apache tribe members who were wearing shirts with his designs. He then learned the products were still being marketed. Zamoyski, however, hasn’t been compensated since 1999, court documents state.
T-shirts, stickers, lighters and beach towels bearing Zamoyski’s Marley images are currently featured in Zion Rootswear’s 2008 spring/summer catalog online. In some instances, his “Jurek” signature logo has been removed.
“It’s sad, because it is against what Bob stood for,” he said. “He stood for justice.”
Paul Rapp, Zamoyski’s attorney, said he attempted to resolve the issue with Bob Marley Music attorney Terri DiPaolo before filing the lawsuit. DiPaolo did not return calls for comment on Thursday.
“We had several conversations, and they went nowhere,” Rapp said. “We also discussed the possibility of having a continuing relationship between Jurek and the Marley estate, but they were not interested. They seem to think they have some defenses to this.”
Rapp is seeking “reasonable” royalty payments for past sales of the Marley items using Zamoyski’s artwork and future sales if an equitable arrangement can be reached.
For his part, Zamoyski, a full-time artist, hopes the matter is resolved “kindly.”
“This case, if we can resolve it peacefully to my benefit, will help my life and my family,” he said.