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Graffiti Artists Fight Copying by Fashion Brands

A crew of graffiti artists is suing Roberto Cavalli for copyright infringement, unfair competition and false designation of origin in the latest in a string of cases involving alleged misappropriation of street art.
Jason “Revok” Williams, Victor “Reyes” Chapa and Jeffrey “Steel” Rubin San Francisco Mission District Mural | Source: Revok, Reyes and Steel.
By
  • Julie Zerbo

A coincidence? Perhaps not. The artists and their lawyers suggest that the Cavalli designers knew exactly what they were doing here: "If the literal misappropriation was not bad enough, Cavalli sometimes chose to do its own painting, superimposing the Just Cavalli name in spray-paint style as if were part of the original work, […] creating the false impression that Roberto Cavalli himself was the artist." After getting wind of the lawsuit, Roberto Cavalli released a statement denying the allegations: "We have heard of some highly inflammatory allegations, which have no basis in fact and are incorrect; we intend to contest and defend against these allegations vigorously."

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