Entity That Stopped Kaws Exhibition Started Legal Proceedings Coz The Exhibition Wasn’t Halted

Inflatables aren’t usually the source of many legal disputes, but then again, this is 2021, and much weirder things have already happened.

One such inflatable – a rather large, 42m-long one – was supposed to be on display for all to see in an exhibition at The Float @ Marina Bay from 13 Nov to 21 Nov.

The only problem was that the Ryan Foundation, non-profit arts organisation, claimed that this artwork involved an alleged breach of the foundation’s intellectual property rights. Consequently, they served the organisers – AllRightsReserved – with a court order to stop the exhibition of the inflatable and sales of related merchandise.

But the exhibition went ahead as planned, and now the Hong Kong-based organisers are in even more trouble.

Entity That Stopped Kaws Exhibition Started Legal Proceedings Coz The Exhibition Wasn’t Halted

The Ryan Foundation has initiated contempt of court proceedings against those involved in the Kaws:Holiday showcase, after they breached the court order to halt the exhibition.

According to the foundation, it had served the court order to an AllRightsReserved representative at 4.20pm on Saturday (13 Nov), just 10 minutes before a private preview for invited social media influencers was scheduled to start, and run till 7.30pm.

Instead of abiding by the order, however, the organisers went ahead with the exhibition, with invited guests ushered into the venue and music playing at the event.

Why the Court Order?

The mammoth inflatable at the heart of the Kaws:Holiday Singapore controversy was created by American artist Kaws, whose real name is Brian Donelly.

His sculptures range in size from a few inches to ten meters tall, and are made from various materials including fibreglass and wood, to name a few.

While some have marvelled at his inflatable, the Ryan Foundation had earlier sued the organisers of the event for an alleged breach of the foundation’s intellectual property rights as well as a breach of confidence.

The foundation and organisers were reportedly in talks back in 2019 over the event, and it’s here where the foundation claims to have come up with and discussed the design for the merchandise as well as introducing the organisers to their contacts in the Singapore government.

In the end, negotiations fell through and the project was aborted. Or so they thought. 

Adrian Chan, one of the owners of The Ryan Foundation, said it was “disappointing” that a version of the project went ahead when “confidential information and intellectual property rights, among other things, were at risk of being misused”.

“The injunction could have been averted if questions were raised and stakeholders consulted.”

Both the organisers and Kaws have called the allegations baseless, with the artist saying he has had no contractual agreement with The Ryan Foundation.

As for now, though, the exhibition is “temporarily closed”, according to the organisers.

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Featured Image: Facebook (Plural Art Mag)