By Elizabeth Cazzadore

The Sundblom Santa: St. Nicholas as the protagonist of Christmas

   Already immersed in the holiday season, it is interesting to analyze some of the most popular traditions from an intellectual property perspective. During these dates, jingles, songs, films, advertising images and decorations alluding to Christmas are everywhere and it is almost inevitable to see Santa, the world-renowned rosy-cheeked old man from distant winter lands and owner of reindeers, magic sledges and a factory full of toy-making elves, the great protagonist of Western Christmas.

The origins of Santa

   We must not forget that this character comes from the European continent and is among the Catholic saints as the universally venerated Saint Nicholas of Bari. He was a man who gave all his property to the poor and became a monk, reaching the rank of bishop on his merits. His generosity was remarkable, especially with the children, which is the binding feature with Santa as we know him today.

   But how is it that a saint became the icon of Christmas? The answer is in the world of marketing. Everything is due to the advertising campaign of The Coca-Cola Company in 1920, when it commissioned [1] the illustrator Haddon Sundblom to develop Santa’s image using for inspiration the description of “St. Nick” in a poem written by Clement Clark Moore (1822)[2].

Copyright in the perspective of Venezuelan legislation

   According to the Law on Copyright [3], Sundblom, by the fact of creation alone, is the owner of a set of moral rights over the work, and, being a work made for hire, it is presumed that the exclusive right of exploitation has been assigned to the principal (The Coca-Cola Company) in an unlimited manner and for all its duration, and the delivery of the image of Santa to Coca-Cola implied authorization for it to be disseminated.

   Likewise, the Regulations [4] of the aforementioned Law sets forth the original ownership that the author has over the work, which means that the ownership of the work derives from the moment of its creation, a fundamental issue to understand the difference between the author and the derivative owner.

   On the other hand, the Industrial Property Law [5] governs everything related to the distinctive signs related to the image at issue. Thus Sundblom, when conceiving his illustration, gave it an eminently commercial nature, and as such, it must have been registered as a figurative mark so that the drawing could be maintained through time (as it has happened), through successive renewals made in the periods set forth in the respective laws.

Santa’s Owners

   The Coca-Cola Company is responsible for the dissemination of Santa, in correlation with the Haddon Sundblom’s image, the former being the owner of the work. However, Sundblom received profits in connection with the creation, but not necessarily with the marketing rights for the exploitation of his creation. All this only regarding the image of Santa, since the rest of what can come to represent, as it is the meaning assigned by each person, is not under the protection of its illustration. That is, the rights relate to the creation of the work by the artist, but not to the name [6] (St. Nick, Santa, etc.) or what it represents.

   We could say that the saint we know today is the result of a mixture of religious devotion related to Saint Nicholas of Bari; the commercialization of a work, this is, the illustration of Haddon Sundblom for Coca-Cola; and several local traditions. Whatever it is, it is a character that makes people happy in one way or another around the world, for the gifts (from the children’s point of view) or for the simple fact of rejoicing in that feeling of warmth that comes to your soul once you are gathered that night sharing with your family.

 

Sources and notes:

• Photo by Guilherme Stecanella on Unsplash
• [1] http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/stories/coca-cola-and-father-christmas-the-sundblom-santa-story
• [2] http://www.coca-colacompany.com/holidays/the-true-history-of-the-modern-day-santa-claus
• [3] Ley sobre el Derecho de Autor. Official Gazette No. 4.638 Special Issue dated 01/Oct/1993. http://sapi.gob.ve/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/leyes/ley_da.pdf
• [4] Regulations to the Law on Copyright and Decision 351 of the Commission of Cartagena establishing the Common Regime on Copyright and Neighboring Rights. Official Gazette No. 5.155 Special Issue dated 9/Sep/1997. http://sapi.gob.ve/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/leyes/reglamento_da.pdf
• [5] Industrial Property Law. Official Gazette No. 25.227, dated 10/Dec/1956. http://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/es/ve/ve006es.pdf
• [6] Pursuant to article 33(10) of the Industrial Property Law, the name or last name of an individual will enjoy protection only if it is sufficiently peculiar and special in its kind.