Forever 21, Urban Outfitters In Trouble Over Copyright Infringement of Tupac Photos

Two major retail giants—Forever 21 and Urban Outfitters—are in hot water after copyright infringement photos of the late and great rapper Tupac. Their copyright infringement has lead to a lawsuit by photographer Danny Clinch.

According to HipHopDX via Consumerist, Clinch snapped photos of the rapper which ultimately landed on a 1996 cover of Rolling Stone magazine.

In addition to the retailers being sued for these unauthorized images on these jerseys, Clinch is also coming after Amaru Merchandising, Tupac’s official merchandise licensing company. Other parties involved in the lawsuit include Planet Productions licensing company and manufacturing company Bioworld. Check out the full lawsuit claim here.

Despite the photos in question being from 1996, it wasn’t until 2oo2 that Clinch finally copyrighted his photos.

Photo of Tupac Shakur posing on a 1996 cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Photo by Danny Clinch.

Clinch is asking to compensated for his photos and for the remaining inventory featuring his images be destroyed.

Forever 21 has been in trouble before over several music-related products, including a T-shirt featuring Ice Cube. Within the past year, they have faced controversy for seemingly ripping off Rihanna’s Fenty Puma line and Kanye West’s Pablo merchandise.

Although this is Urban Outfitters first time in the spotlight for copyright infringement, Forever 21, however has faced this issue in the past. Previously, Forever 21 used Ice Cube’s likeness on a t-shirt while practically copying Rihanna Fenty Puma line and Kanye’s Saint Pablo tour merchandise.

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