Dali17 Museum, and its owner, slapped with federal copyright lawsuit.

Dali17 museum founder Dmitry Piterman, a former resident of Spain, is being sued by Spaniards. 

On July 6, Fundacio Gala-Salvador Dali, a foundation created in 1983 by Spanish painter Salvador Dali, who passed away in 1989, to preserve the integrity of his name, life and image, sued Piterman and his company Dali at 17 Mile Drive, LLC, in federal court in San Francisco for trademark and copyright infringement, and "false designation of origin and unfair competition." 

Piterman, who resides in Pebble Beach, says he is aware of the lawsuit but has not seen it, and adds he has not yet been served. 

"I have zero concerns," Piterman says, adding that the foundation often tries to flex its muscle around the world. "They don’t have the image rights they pretend to. We’ll fight the lawsuit, and I am certain it will not have a negative effect on having the museum stay open."

The museum, which opened in July 2016 in Custom House Plaza in Monterey, uses an image of Dali in its logo, which is one of the principal points of contention in the foundation's lawsuit, which states the foundation has exclusive rights to Dali's image.

It also alleges that Dali17 illegally uses images of Dali and his work, as well as his name, to advertise and promote the museum. 

Piterman believes he's on solid legal ground, however, and points to a July 2016 decision by Spain's Supreme Court that dismissed Fundacio Gala-Salvador Dali's appeal of a provincial court decision, in a lawsuit against a Barcelona exhibit producer, that ruled the foundation never had legal authority to protect its image rights, and that the foundation was just in it for the money—in the form of fees—and not to preserve Dali's image.