CavalliÂs request for the claims to be dismissed were denied last week by a US District Court in California. Three street graffiti artists (Jeffrey Rubin, Jason Williams and Victor Chapa) filed the claims in August 2014, all three men allege that Cavalli has used a mural on a collection of clothing and accessories that they were commissioned to paint, without their consent.
As well as claiming against Cavalli the three men have sued Amazon and other online retailers that have been circulating the infringing material, they have issued claims specifically for copyright infringement, false designation of origin (passing off) and unfair competition.
The infringing material apparently even featured the signatures of the street names of the graffiti artists, in the recent judgement Judge Andre Birotte commented:
Âon some of the items in the collection, the brand name ÂJust Cavalli was superimposed over the images of the plaintiffs mural, the plaintiffs contend that the defendants conduct was intentionally designed to Âinduce, enable, facilitate, or conceal the infringementÂ.
The graffiti artists have been reported to have requested a permanent injunction and jury trial against Cavalli and the associated defendants, whether the case actually makes it to trial is another consideration, we shall have to wait and see… Â
