Did Starbucks Rip Off This Brooklyn Mural Artist To promote Frappuccinos?

they are saying that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. however as you might imagine, this cliché rings much less actual when you find yourself a Brooklyn-primarily based side road artist and the imitator is a globe-spanning supplier that raked in $16 billion in revenue last 12 months.

Maya Hayuk, a reputable mural artist recognized for her brightly colored, geometric art work, is suing Starbucks for allegedly copying her work in an commercial for frappuccinos. The copyright infringement lawsuit demands $750,000 in damages from the espresso-slinging megacorporation.

even supposing it’s now not simple to copyright colors, shapes, and lines, it is even harder to deny that the artwork used in Starbucks’s marketing campaign bears a putting resemblance to the work Hayuk produces. A defendant in a case like this would possibly argue that the resemblance is pure coincidence, however that may well be a difficult promote: Hayuk says Starbucks reached out to her by means of their inventive agency, expressing admiration for her work and inquiring about hiring her for a venture. She indirectly turned the provide down, best to spot some acquainted-having a look imagery in a frappuccino promotional campaign some months later.

it’s now not the first time Starbucks has been accused of lifting an artist’s work. In 2011, dressmaker Ophelia Chong observed that the paintings used on the company’s French roast coffee packaging regarded remarkably identical to an illustration of her own. not directly, Chong decided to not pursue criminal action in opposition to the corporate.