OW&E’s Larry Townsend provided expert commentary to NBC News Bay Area on the possibility that the branding of the new Ikea Food Hall in San Francisco might violate the copyrights of artist Tim Lahan. According to the article on April 13, 2024, San Francisco artist believes new downtown food hall copies his design:
“Larry Townsend, a copyright and trademark attorney with Owen, Wickersham & Erickson in the Bay Area, said of the designs in question: ‘Based upon what I’ve seen, it’s a fairly simple image, but it’s probably sufficient creativity that would be protected by copyright.’
Townsend explained that in copyright infringement cases, an artist typically can make a strong case if they can prove their work was sufficiently accessible and that the other party had the potential to see their work.”