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Ontario rented 'counterfeit' giant rubber duck, Dutch art studio claims

This giant rubber duck created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman visits Hong Kong’s Victoria Habour on May 2, 2013. Photo from AP via CP.
This giant rubber duck created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman visits Hong Kong’s Victoria Habour on May 2, 2013. Photo from AP via CP.

A new controversy has arisen about the giant rubber duck with a hefty price tag coming to Ontario.

A Dutch art studio claims the massive display of artwork, which is costing Ontario taxpayers $200,000, is a fraud. In a news release dated May 31, the studio says the six-storey-tall, 13,600-kilogram yellow duck being toured around the province to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday is a ripoff of Florentjin Hofman’s installation.

“In 2014, Studio Florentijn Hofman retained Mr. Craig Samborski to assist in the production of our art installation in Los Angeles. Since that time, Mr. Samborski has been using our patterns, our design, and our intellectual property to profit off of what was supposed to be a public art installation,” the statement read.

“The duck was never supposed to be used for profit,” the release said.

But the two men behind the other rubber duck, Craig Samborski and Ryan Whaley, say they haven’t stolen anything from Hofman.

Whaley spoke to CBC Radio’s As It Happens last week about the claims. Whaley says the image of the rubber duck is now public domain, and anybody could recreate the installation if they wanted to.

“We’ve actually had an intellectual property lawyer look into this and we were able to patent our duck and trademark it to have it at events,” Whaley told CBC Radio host Carol Off last Friday.

“The duck, itself, could still be used by anybody. So, someone could take a picture of the duck we’re using and make a bigger one and there would be no legal precedent at all,” Whaley said. “It goes back to the 1930s way before Florentijn Hofman ever did anything.”

But Hofman’s qualms don’t seem to be about the ownership of the duck, but rather the message being spread by charging exorbitant amounts to display the piece.

“We are living on a planet, we are one family, and the global waters are our bathtub, so it joins people,” Hofman told the BBC about the art installation in 2013. Hofman’s duck has made stops in various cities around the world.

“We are deeply saddened that the Canadian people have to pay for the actions of Mr. Samborski. In fact, we feel that it is the antithesis of what we assume the Canada 150 celebrations should be all about,” the news release said. “Had a Canadian government official tried to contact us, we would have provided the real duck. It is unfortunate this due diligence wasn’t completed.”

The “counterfeit” duck will kick off its summer tour in Toronto over the Canada Day long weekend on July 1. The artwork will then head towards other smaller waterfronts in Ontario, including the communities of Owen Sound, Midland and Brockville.