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| Seen is a screen capture from an Instagram post of Korean illustrator Tae Tae claiming potential infringement by U.S. rapper Lil Uzi Vert who allegedly copied the illustrator's artwork to use it for his new single "That Way," in this photo uploaded Sunday. The left is the 6-year-old art work of Tae Tae and the right is the newly released album cover of the rapper in March. Screen capture from Instagram |
By Park Ji-won
American rapper Lil Uzi Vert is accused of plagiarizing an artwork of a Korean illustrator for his latest album's cover art, who could be sued for violating the original artist's intellectual property.
Korean illustrator Tae Tae raised the allegation that the U.S. rapper copied his six-year-old artwork without consulting him in advance for the rapper's new single "That Way," pledging to file a suit in case things get worse. The rapper's single was released on March 1.
"My picture was posted on my blog six years ago, and it is possible to use it for personal profile pictures or non-commercial purposes. But it is not allowed to be used for anything else. Now I am very embarrassed and don't want to let this go," Tae Tae wrote on his Instagram Sunday.
The illustrator also uploaded his artwork next to the rappers cover art to display the similarity between the two. It appears that Uzi's piece has a very high level of similarity with that of Tae Tae, showing only differences in color and character. The original illustration features a pink heart and a girl in school uniform, while Uzi's album cover has an orange heart and a man in a suit.
The Korean artist reposted a comment where Uzi claimed he would offer compensation for the artwork, however, the Korean artist says it is baseless as he cannot contact the U.S. artist at the moment.
"Hey I'm not a mean person or a thief, I get inspired a lot. If you want money I will have my team contact and give you money. Signed… Baby Pluto. P.S. You are a great artist," the rapper wrote in an Instagram comment after the controversy started growing.
Tae Tae was quoted as saying by OSEN, an online entertainment news media, Monday that "I had contacted the illustrator who made the album's cover art for Uzi. But he said he was also told to do so by Uzi. He also claims that he cannot reach out to Uzi as well … So I am looking for a lawyer who can help me to tackle the situation."
In multiple media reports, the conversation between Tae Tae and Uzi's illustrator showed that Uzi asked the illustrator to recreate Tae Tae's art piece, which is potential evidence of a violation of the the Korean artist's intellectual property rights.
The Korea Times also reached out to Uzi's management and record label, asking for comment on the possible intellectual property infringement by Uzi, but didn't receive any response.
Since the allegation was raised, comparisons of the artworks and criticism against the rapper have been prevalent online. In Uzi's SNS accounts, many people have left comments requesting further explanation on the possible intellectual property infringement and measures to compensate the original illustrator.
