Kaws Exhibition to Reopen; The Ryan Foundation to Pay Organiser Legal Costs

By
Shawn Ambrose
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Goodbye NOC Saga, and hello, Kaws Saga.

For those who don’t know, a legal dispute involving a large inflatable work of art has been brewing in the past few days.

At the heart of this legal dispute is the Kaws:Holiday exhibition – an event where a 42m-long inflatable will be on display for all to see at The Float @ Marina Bay.

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Just like the NOC saga, there are two opposing parties in this saga: the Ryan Foundation (TRF) and AllRightsReserved (ARR).

Citing a breach of intellectual property rights and breach of confidence, the Ryan Foundation successfully sought a court order on 13 Nov – the first day of the exhibition – to stop the event and sales of related merchandise.

AllRightsReserved, the organiser of the event, went ahead with the exhibition, prompting the Ryan Foundation to initiate contempt of court proceedings.

Then came a twist that would even surprise M. Night Shyamalan.

Kaws Exhibition to Reopen

Now, a judge has ruled in the ARR’s favour, and lifted the order to stop the exhibition.

This means that the Kaws exhibition can resume and run till 21 Nov as planned. It closed temporarily after it was served the interim injunction.

Last Sunday (14 Nov), a day after they served ARR with the court order, TRF initiated contempt of court proceedings against those involved in the showcase, as the organisers had gone ahead with the exhibition, with invited guests ushered into the venue and music playing at the event.

Alleged IP Breach

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.

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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.

Both Michael Donelly – the artist behind Kaws – and AAR called these allegations groundless, and for now, the court seems to agree with them.

TRF Has to Pay Legal Costs

In a statement on Instagram, ARR revealed that the court has also ordered the Ryan Foundation to pay ARR’s legal costs.

“The Court further ordered that there will also be an inquiry into the damages sustained by AllRightsReserved by reason of the injunction,” it said.

“AllRightsReserved and KAWS:HOLIDAY Singapore welcomes the Court’s judgement today, for justice has prevailed.”

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Shawn Ambrose
Email: [email protected]