High-profile fashion designer Marc Jacobs is fighting a lawsuit filed against him by the estate of the band Nirvana alleging copyright infringement.
Jacobs Redux Grunge collection uses a seemingly identical cartoon smiley face to an iconic Nirvana logo, using his initials to replace the crossed-out eyes on the band's version.
In Jacobs motion for dismissal of the lawsuit his lawyers acknowledge the design was "inspired by vintage Nirvana concert T-shirts from the 1990s", but the new design was "reinterpreted the design to incorporate [a Marc Jacobs] branding element into an otherwise commonplace image".
The motion for dismissal is focussed around the fact that while Nirvana owns copyright for a similar artwork, it's for a whole t-shirt design that has the smiley face, the band's name and "flower sniffin kitty pettin baby kissin corporate rock whores" written on the back.
Jacobs argues that his design, which features the word Heaven and his initials on the smiley face, is sufficiently different from Nirvana's.
The Nirvana estate is owned by Kurt Cobain's widow Courtney Love as well as his daughter Frances Bean Cobain and former bandmates Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic.
The estate has yet to comment on the motion for dismissal.
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