UPDATE: H&M Files Lawsuit Against Graffiti Artist, Denies Copyright Protection

UPDATE [11:44:00 EST March 16, 2018]: According to Jeff Gluck, H&M has voluntarily dismissed the case against Jason “REVOK” Williams.

UPDATE [21:07:00 EST March 15, 2018]: H&M recently released a statement regarding its dispute with Jason “REVOK” Williams, saying:

H&M respects the creativity and uniqueness of artists, no matter the medium. We should have acted differently in our approach to this matter. It was never our intention to set a precedent concerning public art or to influence the debate on the legality of streetart. As a result, we are withdrawing the complaint filed in court. We are currently reaching out to the artist in question to come up with a solution. We thank you for your comments and concerns, as always, your voice matters to us.

However, in a contradictory statement, Jeff Gluck, attorney to Williams relayed to HYPEBEAST that “This evening I spoke with counsel for H&M. They informed me that they are not in fact dismissing the lawsuit.” It’s also important to note that at the time of writing, H&M’s aforementioned campaign is still live.

H&M has entered a legal dispute with artist Jason “REVOK” Williams over the copyright usage of his work in a recent advertising campaign. The campaign features imagery as well as videos of a male model clad in the retailer’s “New Routine” sportswear line while in front of a wall with Williams’s graffiti painted on it. The wall is located at the William Sheridan Playground handball court in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

In a cease and desist letter sent to H&M this past January 8, Williams’s lawyer expressed that the fast fashion giant’s “unauthorized use of his [Willaims] original artwork, and the manner in which it is using the work, is damaging and is likely to cause consumers familiar with his work to believe there is a relationship between the parties,” HYPEBEAST has learned. Ultimately, the letter goes on to urge H&M to “immediately cease” Williams’s work from the campaign because they argue that it is an act of copyright infringement.

Today, H&M fired back at Williams and his counsel in a letter with a lawsuit expressing, “Under the circumstances, in which your client’s claimed ‘art work’ is the product of criminal conduct, Mr. Williams has no copyright rights to assert,” expressed the retailer. “The entitlement to copyright protection is a privilege under federal law that does not extend to illegally created works.”

In that same letter, H&M expressed that it apparently hired an outside production agency to capture the campaign at the handball court. Moreover, the production agency had presumably inquired with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYCDP) to see whether or not they need the permission of the artist responsible for creating the mural on the wall. The NYCDP ostensibly said that the “graffiti on the park handball wall was unauthorized and constituted vandalism and defacing of New York City property.”

There is still ongoing debate on whether or not unsanctioned street art is protected by U.S. copyright laws. Under existing law, a work immediately receives protection if it is an “original work of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression,” as stated in 17 U.S.C. § 102(a).

This isn’t the first time Williams took on a fashion brand for allegedly stealing his work. In 2015, REVOK alongside fellow artists Reyes and Steel sued Roberto Cavalli for copyright infringement.

Stay tuned for more details on the case.