Foundation sues to halt plantation photo sales

The College of Charleston Foundation is suing a photographer who is selling expensive images of a plantation it owns near Hollywood, a dispute that involves the wishes of the property's late owner and copyright law.

The foundation, a nonprofit arm of the school, said in a lawsuit that Hilton Head Island artist Benjamin Ham entered Dixie Plantation some time in 2006 without permission to shoot a photograph that he later put up for sale for as much as $4,800 per copy.

The 862-acre tract, which is on the Stono River off S.C. Highway 162, was left to the college's foundation for private, educational and research purposes by noted wildlife artist and ornithologist

John Henry Dick, who died in 1995.

College of Charleston spokesman Mike Robertson said the foundation's "big problem" stems from a legally binding restriction by Dick prohibiting the sale of images of the property "for any commercial gains."

"We're telling this man he can't do this," Robertson said Monday.

The foundation is seeking unspecified damages and repayment of legal fees, as well as a court order requiring Ham to stop selling the images.

Ham has not yet filed a formal response to the allegations. He referred questions Monday to his attorney, John C. McElwaine, who said the suit was without merit.

"This is a question of copyright ownership, and nothing I've seen indicates that a copyright should be transferred to (the foundation)," McElwaine said.

Originally filed Aug. 8 in Charleston County, the case was transferred Thursday to federal court, where most disputes involving copyright issues are handled, said Neil D. Thomson, attorney for the foundation.

Thomson declined to comment on the lawsuit, other than to say he hopes it will be resolved quickly.

The foundation said in its complaint that it was aware of least one image Ham took and developed of Dixie Plantation without its consent. It also alleged he is continuing to sell reproductions of that photo, titled "Plantation Road," which shows a canopy of old live oaks.

Depending on the size, copies run from $1,400 to $4,800, according to a Broad Street gallery that features Ham's works.

In an article published in November by photo industry newsletter In Focus, Ham said he is constantly on the lookout for roads lined with live oaks. He described the trees shown in "Plantation Road" as "the Holy Grail," estimating that they are more than 350 years old.

"I have never seen anything like it," Ham was quoted as saying.

The newsletter also noted that "Plantation Road" was his best-seller at the time and that Ham "scouted the shot for a week before this image was taken ... and was fortunate enough to catch it on a misty, foggy morning."