New York artist Maya Hayuk was approached by
an advertising agency working for Starbucks, to see if she would
assist them with a proposed advertising campaign. Ms. Hayuk is
known internationally for her paintings using bold colors, and
vibrant geometric shapes - rays, lines, stripes and circles.
She declined the offer to work with Starbucks (too busy) and was
surprised when she saw the final marketing campaign for the
Starbucks Frappuccino product. The marketing materials, including
artwork on Frappuccino cups, websites, and on signage at
Starbucks' retail locations and promotional videos, were
strikingly similar to Hayuk's artworks. The artist promptly
launched a copyright infringement lawsuit against both Starbucks
and its advertising agency, claiming that Starbucks created artwork
that was substantially similar to her paintings and further, the
Starbucks material appropriated the "total concept and
feel" of her paintings, even though there was no "carbon
copy" of
