While not exactly a video game case, we thought our readers might find this of interest.

On August 5, 2015, Plaintiff Joseph Tierney sued Defendants Moschino S.p.A. and Jeremy Scott for copyright and trademark infringement, unfair competition, and violation of the right of publicity.

Tierney is a graffiti artist known as "Rime", who is famous for his work entitled, "Vandal Eyes". Vandal Eyes (shown above, left) is a giant mural covering the side of a building, which Rime was asked to create by a Detroit property owner. Defendants are high-end fashion designers, who used Rime's artwork and fake signature on their clothing line, advertisements, and in media photographs, without Rime's consent. Defendants used literal copies of the Vandal Eyes mural in their Fall/Winter 2015 Collection. The Collection gained international media attention through the world when it was displayed on runways and worn by celebrities including actress Katy Perry and model Gigi Hadid.

Plaintiff alleges his reputation and career have been damaged by Defendants' unauthorized use of his artwork. Plaintiff stated that he carefully chose a target audience to display his graffiti artwork, and he deliberately did not associate with Moschino's fashion line. Additionally, Plaintiff alleges that Defendants benefited from using the mural because Moschino revenues increased by about 10% since the launch of the Collection.

We will continue to monitor this case for interesting updates.