Troll's Two Creators Sue Over Image's Use

SEATTLE - Creators of the Fremont Troll, that hulking, Volkswagen-clutching creature under the Aurora Bridge, have sued a Fremont business for using the troll's image without the artists' permission.

Artists Will Martin and Ross Whitehead filed a copyright-infringement suit against Prolab Inc., a film-processing company that included the Troll's image in a company brochure. In it, the Troll is color-tinted to illustrate Prolab's colorization process, said the artists' attorney, Tom Hayton.

The suit, filed Aug. 5 in U.S. District Court in Seattle, seeks $100,000 in damages.

Hayton said the artists want to protect the Troll from being over-commercialized. But Prolab attorney Bruce Gardiner said the image is public and copyrights cannot be claimed. The Troll is on public property and was built with public money after it won a design competition in 1990.