Nirvana sue designer Marc Jacobs over T-shirt’s alleged copyright breach: judge for yourself

Surviving members of alternative rock band Nirvana are suing designer Marc Jacobs for copyright infringement. The brand’s recent Redux Grunge collection features several items that resemble the Seattle grunge band’s black-and-yellow iconography.

Representatives of the group, which split in 1994 following the death of frontman Kurt Cobain, claim that Marc Jacobs’ unauthorised use of “Nirvana’s copyrighted image on and to promote its products is intentional”. The suit claims that the use of Nirvana’s iconography, which the band has used since 1992, is to “make the ‘Grunge’ association with the collection more authentic”.

The suit also cites the use of Nirvana references in Marc Jacobs marketing materials, including a meme posted to the brand’s Tumblr account featuring a clip of the group’s 1991 hit, Smells Like Teen Spirit, and an image of Jacobs wearing a T-shirt above the words Come As You Are, the title of a 1992 hit by the trio.

The suit describes Marc Jacobs’ actions as “oppressive, fraudulent and malicious” and claims that they “have caused Nirvana to suffer irreparable injuries” and “threaten to dilute the value of Nirvana’s licenses with its licensees for clothing products”.

The US department stores Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus are also included in the suit for selling the items that allegedly infringe the band’s copyright. The group is seeking monetary damages, the removal of sale of any such items and the removal of Nirvana references from promotional materials.

Nirvana’s iconography is subject to regular bootlegging: the hoodies found on market stalls worldwide are seldom licensed. The group would be unlikely to pursue these vendors because of the low possibility of recovering significant damages, says Alexander Ross, a partner at music lawyers Wiggins LLP.