Are Artists’ Works Effectively Available License-Free to Major Retailers?

However, according to Vice Channel, Broadly, Zara’s lawyers were not so welcoming of the artists’ claims. According to one of the artists, Zara’s attorneys responded with: “We reject your claims here for reasons similar to those stated above: the lack of distinctiveness of your client’s purported designs makes it very hard to see how a significant part of the population anywhere in the world would associate the signs with Tuesday Bassen [artist].”  Why Zara’s attorney’s believe that the number of viewers who see both works affects the question of whether or not there has been copyright infringement is unclear.

Unfortunately, this is probably not the last time we will see a battle between a major retailer and artists. And with excessive court and attorney costs, large companies know they have the upper hand in copyright disputes, often pressuring artists to settle for nominal amounts.