Earlier this year, dance duo Justice issued Justin Bieber with a cease and desist over his artwork for his latest album, Justice, which both bare a striking resemblance.
Now for the first time since they delivered the legal papers, one of the Justice members has spoken out on the case.
In an interview with The Guardian, Justice’s Gaspard Augé said, “It’s how the world works today, and it’s a bit sad,” he continued, “Obviously, we don’t own the word ‘Justice’ and we don’t own the cross. But [Bieber’s] management got in touch first to ask where our logo came from, so it’s not some unhappy coincidence. To me, it’s a very conscious rip-off. And that’s where the problem is.”
Augé also commented on the extent of how unfair it is, given the height of Bieber’s fame, “Though Bieber is from Canada, his actions fit this mindset of American hegemony: ‘Oh well, it’s just a small band from France, I’m sure we can take their name, nobody will care.'”
Earlier this year, Justice’s co-manager Tyler Goldberg of Jet Management issued a statement on Bieber’s album cover art, commenting on how many had approached him at the point of confusion.
Goldberg said, “The morning Bieber announced his album, it was pretty tough to miss. Aside from seeing it all over the internet ourselves, we heard from hundreds of people throughout the day – industry people, Justice fans – and the Justice guys received a tonne of messages, not only compelled to point out the similarities between the Justice Justin Bieber album, but confused. ‘Is this a Justice collaboration?’”
As part of the cease and desist Bieber was issued with, he was served that, “Through your illegal co-opting of the Mark, you are now subject to immediate legal action and damages including, but not limited to, punitive and injustice relief.”
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