This week, Nirvana, Marc Jacobs and former Geffen Records art director Robert Fisher settled a 5-year copyright dispute over Nirvana’s famous smiley face logo.
Former Geffen Records art director Robert Fisher then came forward to claim that he was the creator and had received no compensation for the design. Fisher also created many of the band’s famous album covers.
In December 2018, Nirvana claimed that Marc Jacobs had infringed copyright and trade marks that subsist in their smiley face design. As part of Marc Jacobs’ ‘Bootleg Redux Grunge’ collection, the brand released a t-shirt featuring a face with the letters M and J for eyes, a tongue sticking out, and a wavy smile, with the word ‘HEAVEN’ printed above it. Nirvanas design features the same elements. However, their design incorporated X’s for eyes and ‘NIRVANA’ printed above the face.
For 30 years, it was claimed that lead singing Kurt Cobain had designed the logo. However, as part of the case it was revealed that the other band members, Dave Grohl and Krist Noveselic, did not actually know whether it was Cobain that had created the famous design.
The three parties agreed to resolve the dispute and finalise an agreement within the next three weeks. This agreement was prompted by the assistance of a mediator in the California federal court.
While we will not find out the details of the settlement, it has been an interesting case to follow. It demonstrates the importance of assigning correct authorship, as well as avoiding the sale of goods bearing logos that are substantially similar to rights that have prior protection.
If you have any questions on the above, feel free to contact a member of the team at 0191 281 4000 or alternatively at legal@mcdanielslaw.com.
