SINGAPORE - A Singaporean has been ordered to pay US$900,000 in damages to artist Kaws by a district court in New York after being found guilty of wilfully infringing the artist’s copyright.According to court documents seen by The Straits Times, the lawsuit was filed by Mr Brian Donnelly, better known by his alias Kaws, on Nov 18, 2021. The defendants named in the suit were Mr Dylan Leong and businesses run by him – The Penthouse Theory and The Penthouse Collective.
Mr David Arkin, a project assistant at Kaws Inc, stated in court documents that Mr Leong had “154 counterfeit items offered for sale... priced between US$59 and US$3,299”. Mr Donnelly and his team had initially sought a claim of US$2 million for each of the 18 trademark infringements. Checks by ST reveal that of Mr Leong’s two businesses, only the website of The Penthouse Theory is still in operation.