image: Glamour
Yet another photographer has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Kendall and Kylie Jenner in connection with their uber-controversial vintage tees. New York-based Al Pereira – who is the copyright holder of the photo depicting Tupac Shakur, Notorious B.I.G. and Redman that appears on one style of Kendall + Kylie’s controversial vintage-inspired tees – alleges that the famed reality television sisters “copied [his] photo and placed it on a t-shirt to sell to the public,” thereby giving rise to copyright infringement claims.
Pereira alleges that he took “an iconic photograph of American rapper and actor Tupac Shakur with rapper Notorious B.I.G. and Redman” and that the Jenners “did not license the photograph from [him] for the t-shirt nor did [they] have [his] permission or consent to sell the t-shirt with the photograph.”
Pereira’s suit – which seeks damages, including any profits that the Jenners made in connection with the sale of the tees – was filed on the heels of a very similar suit by photographer Michael Miller.
Miller filed a copyright infringement complaint against Kendall and Kylie in July. In his suit, Miller claimed that an association with the Jenners – “internet and reality television personalities who are known for their ostentations displays of wealth on social media” – and specifically Kendall, is “particularly problematic [for Miller] given that she was complicit in not one but two of the worst public relations disasters in recent memory,” says Miller’s complaint, referring to her Pepsi commercial and her involvement in promoting Fyre Festival.
Miller further claims that “at no time [did he seek] to associate his work with Kendall or Kylie or any of their companies.”
In an earlier article, we told you that the pair released a collection of legally questionable band tees where either Kendall, Kylie, or the initials of the brand “KK” was screen-printed atop the album covers and photos of artists, including Tupac, Biggie Smalls, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, and others.
Shortly after their release, the families (and in the case of The Doors, the manager) of those featured on the tees, as well as their millions of fans, began speaking out against the tees, describing the stunt to be “exploitative” and “disgusting.”
The sisters’ legal team has spoken out since Miller first filed suit, saying the shirts with Shakur’s image were obtained from a company that had a valid license to sell them. The Kylie + Kendall brand superimposed images of the Jenner sisters or other designs over photos of musicians, including Shakur, Notorious B.I.G. and Ozzy Osbourne.
The statement went on to call Miller’s lawsuit baseless. “The allegations made are completely false and the lawsuit is baseless,” the statement said. “There has been no infringement or violation of anyone’s rights.”
For a full list of the copying claims and litigations filed against the famous family, you can find that here.
* The case is Pereira v. Kendall Jenner, Inc., 1:2017-cv-06945 (SDNY).
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