The estate of the late artist Vera Neumann has filed a federal copyright infringement suit in the Southern District of New York against designer Kate Spade. According to the complaint, the estate owns the copyright to a design entitled “Poppy Field" created by Neumann in 1978. The complaint claims that Kate Spade admitted that she had been inspired by Neumann's designs: "Kate Spade has indicated, at least several years ago, that among the items and products that have inspired her designs are the silk-screened scarves of Vera," which Spade referred to in her book “Style by Kate Spade.”
The estate is seeking "an amount not as yet known, but believed to be in excess of one million dollars plus interest" in damages. This amount purportedly represents "all gains, profits and advantages derived by Spade's use of the infringement of Neumann's copyright."
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| Neumann's "Poppy Field" |
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| Kate Spade's alleged infringement |
