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Target and Home Depot are being sued by a photographer and the estate of The Notorious B.I.G. for selling unauthorized prints of an iconic photo of the late emcee.
According to Billboard, the two major retailers have allegedly profited off a famed Barron Claiborne photo taken of Biggie titled "The King of New York" without authorization. Republic Merchandising Inc., a California-based entity that claims to oversee Biggie Smalls' (real name Christopher George Latore Wallace) merchandise, has joined the lawsuit with Claiborne and The Notorious B.I.G., LLC.
The 1997 photo was allegedly taken just days before Biggie was slain in Los Angeles on March 7 of that year. According to Claiborne's lawsuit, Smalls' $6 plastic crown from the photo series sold for roughly $595,000 at a Sotheby's auction in 2020.
"Defendants used Mr. Wallace’s persona, name, image, and likeness, as well as several trademarks relating to him, and Mr. Claiborne’s K.O.N.Y. series photographs, for many years, across numerous items, and in multiple ways, without authorization," reads the lawsuit.
Elsewhere, it states, "Defendants specifically chose to use Mr. Wallace’s persona, name, image, likeness, and related marks in an attempt to capitalize on their fame and extraordinary financial value."
Clairbourne, Republic and the late rapper's estate also claim that independent art webstore iCanvas is responsible for using Biggie's "persona, name, image, and likeness, and related marks" unauthorized since 2015. While the company was contacted in 2023 about Biggie-related items using the photo, the products mentioned were removed while some that are trademark-infringing remain on the site.
English (US) ·