A complaint recently filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California illustrates the problems that companies may run into if they do not properly clear copyrighted work for use in advertising. In the case, plaintiff Eric Rosenbaum, aka NORM, a noted graffiti and tattoo artist based in Los Angeles, filed a complaint against McDonald’s alleging copyright infringement, unfair competition, misappropriation of likeness and false advertising. Rosenbaum’s work has been featured in major advertising campaigns for companies including Coca-Cola, Scion and Rockstar Inc. He also runs a tattoo shop in Los Angeles where he designs and inks tattoos and manufactures custom tattoo machines. Rosenbaum’s artwork primarily consists of large, distinctive block lettering of the name “NORM.”
The artwork at the center of the lawsuit is a piece that Rosenbaum installed in 2005 on a fire escape in Brooklyn, New York, that features Rosenbaum’s distinctive lettering style. In 2016, Rosenbaum registered the artwork, titled “Fire Escape on Bartlett,” with the U.S. Copyright registration office.
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