Case update
U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield denied Jeff Koons’ motion to dismiss the case in a ruling on July 19, 2022. The court’s opinion confirms that Plaintiff Hayden’s snake sculpture is a work of fine art, not just a useful article as Koons had argued, and further indicates that Koons’ fair use defense may be weak: “That the original work is creative cuts strongly against a finding of fair use. . . . While the complaint acknowledges that plaintiff agreed that the original work could be used commercially by Cicciolina and was intended to be used in public performances, the complaint also alleges that plaintiff never ‘authorized the making or distribution of copies’ nor assigned authorship, copyright ownership, or sublicensing rights.”
Plaintiff Michael Hayden is represented by OWE’s Linda Joy Kattwinkel and Jordan Fletcher of Fletcher Law PLLC. Fletcher commented to media sources after the ruling: “We are pleased that the court agreed that Mr. Hayden’s sculpture was, in fact, a creative work of art entitled to copyright protection.”
Original December 2021 post
A suit filed in federal court in New York on December 2, 2021 on behalf of OW&E client Michael Hayden alleges that artist Jeff Koons incorporated without permission Hayden’s sculpture of a serpent wrapped around a rock pedestal when Koons created several artworks for his well-known “Made in Heaven” series that feature Koons posed on top of the pedestal with the Italian adult film star Cicciolina. The image of Koons’ allegedly infringing sculpture shown here was filed with the court. According to the complaint, filed by OW&E’s Linda Joy Kattwinkel and New York co-counsel Jordan Fletcher, the Made in Heaven series “caused a media sensation and scandal when it premiered, and it is regularly credited with launching Mr. Koons into the art world’s stratosphere.”
OW&E’s Kattwinkel assisted Hayden in obtaining copyright registration for his serpent work in early 2020. Koons’ was contacted about the infringement, but the complaint alleges that Koons has nevertheless continued to display images depicting the sculpture and false authorship information on his website. Hayden is seeking a permanent injunction that would publicly credit Hayden for the use of his art in the “Made in Heaven” series, bar Koons from making any more art using copies of his sculpture, as well and seizure and forfeiture of the infringing works and actual and statutory damages.
An article in the New York Daily News, Artist Jeff Koons stole ‘Made in Heaven’ art from sculpture made for Italian porn star: suit, quotes OW&E’s co-counsel Jordan Fletcher: “Mr. Hayden was upset to discover that his artwork has been used by Jeff Koons and others for decades to enrich themselves without his knowledge or permission and without him receiving any credit. We believe this is a massive violation of Mr. Hayden’s rights as an artist.”
Mr. Koons is well known for incorporating the copyrighted works of others into his artworks without permission or attribution, and has been sued numerous times for doing so. Most recently in March 2021, the Paris Court of Appeal affirmed that one of his “Banality” sculptures infringed the French fashion ad photograph on which it was based.
.