Known for his unique style of appropriating popular-culture imagery and mass-produced objects to create his own artwork, Jeff Koons made headlines a few years ago in Blanch v. Koons, as the defendant in a copyright violation suit. In that suit, Andrea Blanch, a professional fashion and portrait photographer, accused Koons of using her image entitled “Silk Sandals by Gucci” to create his own image, which he called “Niagara.” Despite the Blanch’s accusations though, the Second Circuit found that Koons had sufficiently transformed Blanch’s original image, qualifying his version as a fair use. But that was then. Now, Koons is reversing roles. Koons recently filed a lawsuit against two businesses, Park Life and Imm-Living. The suit claims that the companies’ production and sale of bookends that resemble his well-known “Balloon Dog” sculptures are violating his intellectual property rights. Koons moved forward with this suit after his lawyer sent both companies cease and desist letters to no avail. Although Koons maintains that his copyrights in these sculptures have been violated, experts believe that Koons’s sculptures were based on an object in the public domain. Therefore, Koons’s case may be more successful as a trademark issue.
Koons is no stranger to the legal system and art infringement claims, having previously been involved in a similar lawsuit that came about from the “Banality” art show, which settled for an undisclosed amount. Art appropriation is not a new concept though. For example, Andy Warhol relied on other people’s images to create his now infamous artwork. However, as merchandising has become a profitable source of revenue, intellectual property protection has increased. Perhaps this increase in IP protection is leading to frivolous lawsuits, which Koons’s latest case may very well turn out to be.
Please note: In addition to All Things IP, Telecomm, & Tech Law Blog, I am also a senior blogger for the American University Intellectual Property Brief ("IP Brief"). This blog post was first published on the IP Brief website.
