Copyright: Jeff Koons and the Pompidou Center convicted on appeal for counterfeiting a Naf-Naf advertisement
09/03/2021On February 23, 2021, the Paris Court of Appeal upheld the conviction of Jeff Koons and his company and ruled that the sculpture “Fait d’hiver” was indeed a counterfeit of the work of Franck Davidovici. The “Pompidou Center” was also condemned for having exhibited the disputed sculpture during the retrospective exhibition devoted to the artist in 2014.
However, the Court increases the damages awarded to the publicist, which for each defendant amount to 190,000 euros for each defendant. The damages also include a ban on exhibiting and reproducing the sculpture. Consequently, any dissemination of the disputed sculpture on the Internet must be withdrawn, failing which a penalty payment of 600 euros per day will be imposed.
In any case, UGGC Law Firm and its team specialized in intellectual property law are at your disposal for any questions you may have on this subject and in particular to help you assess the margin of freedom authorized for the resumption of a pre-existing[1] creation.
By the IP/IT team of UGGC Law Firm
Judgment references: Paris Court of Appeal, Pôle 5, Chamber 1, February 23, 2021, No. 19/09059
Sources : Le Figaro
[1] Article L. 122-5 of the Intellectual Property Code