When Fashion and Graffiti Collide

Joseph Tierney, is a well known street artist known as "Rime”.  He sued fashion designer, Jeremy Scott and high-end Italian apparel brand, Moschino over the dress Katy Perry wore to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Met Gala in May.

Rime accused Moschino and Scott of copying one his giant murals entitled "Vandal Eyes," which is now located on the side of a Detroit building, and displaying the mural on Perry's dress. The name and signature of Rime were also on the dress.   The dress and mural can be seen here.

Rime is bringing copyright, unfair competition and publicity rights claims against Moschino and Scott.

Rime states that the dress, which violated his rights, was also worn by supermodel Gigi Hadid at a the February 2015 Moschino runway show in Milan. In addition, photos of the dress are on the company's websites as well as social media.  Court documents reference The Wall Street Journal as reporting Moschino experienced a 16 percent increase in revenue for the first quarter of 2015. 

Rime is asking the court to stop any further marketing or sale of the dresses as well as all profits made from the sale or any dresses, and other monetary damages.

What’s the take away here?  Don’t copy someone else’s material.  If you find something you like, ask if you can use it.  If you cannot, create something yourself or go elsewhere. 

Protecting your innovative developments is critical to any organization.  Having the right person to help you make that decision is important.  The Law Office of Kathleen Lynch PLLC is designed to help businesses such as yours keep ahead of the game.   The first telephone consultation is free.  Email us at klynch@kliplaw.com.