German artist Michael Moebius won $120 million in 'monumental' lawsuit against hundreds of foreign counterfeiters: the news comes just one day after the US Supreme Court's landmark ruling against the Foundation Andy Warhol.
Michael Moebius, known for painting pop culture icons by blowing gum, won a "monumental" copyright infringement lawsuit against hundreds of foreign counterfeiters. The artist received a total of $120 million, which his team called "the most ever awarded to a living independent artist," in a statement.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg. It's crazy the infractions out there. If you Google 'Marilyn gum', 99% of it is all fake,” Moebius told Artnet News.
“Obviously I did something right, because art has been attracting people for over a decade and making people happy. But the quality of fakes really affects me. People wonder if they own the fake ones or the real ones. I'm sorry about that and it really affects the market.”
Moebius has sued 399 separate companies based in China and other foreign nations that it says violated its copyright by selling "counterfeit versions" of its images, according to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. .
The artist also alleged that the companies went to "great efforts" to protect themselves from liability and "the full scope and interoperability of their counterfeiting operation," the lawsuit says. "Over the course of a decade, I have faced hundreds of thousands of copyright infringements on my artwork," Moebius said in an Instagram post ahead of the court's ruling.
“None of the defaulting defendants responded or attended in any way, with the deadline for responding having expired, so the allegations in the complaint are uncontroversial and considered admitted”, wrote the judge in his decision.
During the litigation, some of the defendants tried to fight the lawsuit - pushing for layoffs and delays. Court records indicate that some of the defendants hired a Chinese lawyer to try to negotiate a settlement. Ultimately, nine companies entered into an agreement with Moebius, he said.
“In an environment where prestige luxury houses such as Hermès, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Dior deal with rampant infringement, Moebius' distinguished works have faced similar challenges,” reads the statement from the Moebius team.
"This parallel not only underscores the global allure and high demand for Moebius' creations, but also underscores the historic importance of this court case in safeguarding the sanctity of original artwork and intellectual property."
Now, Moebius hopes his win can help inspire other artists to defend their copyrights.
The revelation of Moebius's legal victory, formally won last week, came on the same day the US Supreme Court delivered its verdict in photographer Lynn Goldsmith's lawsuit against the Foundation. Andy Warhol.
Moebius himself has had to defend himself against allegations of copyright infringement by other artists, he added. As his paintings are of often dead celebrities, Moebius creates a collage of portraits from a dozen photographs to create his reference for the painting.
“We know the famous portrait of Audrey Hepburn holding a cigarette, but it's so different from my image because of her lovely eyes,” said Moebius. “David Bowie has had so many hairstyles in his career, so which one will you choose?”