FORNEBU, Norway, July 31 (UPI) -- Low-cost airline Norwegian Air Shuttle has been fined for using an inflatable Edvard Munch "Scream" doll in an ad campaign without permission.
The doll -- based on the character depicted in the Norwegian Symbolist painter's 1893 painting, "The Scream" -- was supposed to persuade people in northern Norway to visit Oslo, where two versions of the painting are exhibited, the airline said.
Advertising agency DDB Worldwide Communications Group Inc., which created the campaign, said the unauthorized use was a result of a "misunderstanding," Oslo's Aftenposten newspaper reported.
The famous image is frequently used without permission of copyright owners the Munch Museum and Munch's relatives, a lawyer for a Norwegian painters' copyright organization said.
Benedicte Langefjord said she issued 15 to 25 claims for unauthorized use of Munch motifs in the past six months.
Norwegian Air Shuttle and the copyright owners have not reached an agreement on the size of the fine, Aftenposten said.
