Lmao

Dear Mr. Trommel:



Our firm represents the designer Vika Gazinskaya. It has come to my
attention that you are disparaging my client on the Internet with
false claims of “theft” regarding my client’s decision to use the idea
of multicolored blocks and letters (which is not protectable) and
express it in a way that you claim is a “direct copy” of your work but
most certainly is not. Using inspiration from existing material is
presumably what you did with your Rubik’s cube-looking art, and indeed
your art in general has been reported (including in The New Yorker) as
being based on preexisting material. In any event, my client’s
designs do not violate your art any more than your art violates the
rights in 80’s-inspired grid patterns that were all the rage when I
was a kid. As any artist appreciates, inspiration is everywhere, and
we wouldn’t have art but for it – not to mention that an image search
on Google turns up many similar designs.



It is unfortunate that you have attacked not another artist who
competes with you, but a start-up designer who – like you – takes
inspiration from today’s world over which you have no monopoly. It is
even more unfortunate that you have done so in such a manner without
consulting with legal counsel to check whether you might be right (you
are wrong) or otherwise considering the financial damage your false
and disparaging comments are causing. It has also been
well-publicized, including in the New Yorker, that you willfully
violated the rights of creators by downloading music through Napster
and KaZaA and ordered thousands of counterfeit items from China, so
for you to take offense that someone would express a similar concept
in a very different way comes across as quite bizarre. Even one of
the images from this series includes artwork from other products and
text from other people (including a reference to counterfeiting) –
this rage regarding someone who did not even use your work coming from
someone whose reputation centers on using others’ material certainly
comes out of the blue. Hypocrisy aside, my client would be well
within her rights to seek legal remedies to protect herself from this
vicious and baseless attack that you have started or facilitated based
on your groundless view that you and only you own the idea of a
gridded design with many colors in it.



However, despite the fact that you have callously caused severe damage
based on your pronunciation that my client violated your rights when
she most certainly did not, she would prefer to resolve this manner in
a constructive way if possible. In the interim, we ask that you
immediately cease and desist from all statements that my client has
engaged in “theft” or has otherwise violated your rights, and that you
or your attorney contact me by the end of the day today so that we can
develop a constructive, positive resolution to this issue. To the
extent you have been encouraging others to post “fuck you” and other
such abusive comments underneath every piece that my client is
offering (none of which are pieces that you claim are “copies”), we of
course ask that this cease as well. We presently are taking steps to
have these accounts suspended due to online bullying.



My contact information is below. We look forward to your anticipated response.



Sincerely yours,

Eleanor





Eleanor M. Lackman

Partner

Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP

41 Madison Avenue, 38th fl., New York, NY 10010

tel: 212.974.7474 / fax: 212.974.8474 / direct tel: 212.497.0958

elackman@cdas.com | www.cdas.com





*** This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential.
Its contents are intended solely for the Recipient(s) indicated and
may also be privileged or otherwise protected by work product immunity
or other legal rules. If you are not the intended Recipient you are
hereby notified that disclosing, copying, distributing or taking any
action in reliance on the contents of this e-mail is strictly
prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please delete
this e-mail from your system and notify Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams &
Sheppard LLP immediately by e-mail. ***