Renowned artist Brian Donnelly, professionally known as KAWS, recently won a lawsuit amounting to $900,000 in damages against counterfeit products featuring his artworks. According to The Art Newspaper, the lawsuit, initially filed in 2021, was against Dylan Joy An Leong Yi Zhi from Singapore and his associated companies.

In the US Southern District Court of New York, the defendants were ordered to cease production of counterfeit goods displaying KAWS's signature Companion character. The substantial damages awarded to KAWS are set to counteract the detrimental market impact and dilution of his brand's distinctiveness due to these counterfeit products.

As per court documents, Leong's fraudulent goods were sold at prices ranging from $59 to $3,299, with the total counterfeit items adding up to a staggering retail price of $63 million. KAWS emphasized that such forgery hurts his reputation and potentially weakens the market for his original works due to buyers' fear of inadvertently purchasing a counterfeit.

Aaron Richard Golub, KAWS's lawyer, has indicated that they plan to pursue a judgement against Jonathan Anand, another defendant in the case. Meanwhile, representatives for KAWS and Leong have yet to comment.