LEGO made a tiny Queer Eye jacket.
Now a judge says the copyright lawsuit over it can move forward.
The original jacket was created by artist James Concannon for Antoni Porowski.
Porowski wore the one-of-a-kind leather piece on Queer Eye.
When LEGO released Queer Eye – The Fab Five Loft, its Antoni minifigure appeared to be wearing a miniature version with artwork arranged in a similar way.
Concannon sued LEGO, arguing that the company copied his artwork.
A federal judge has now refused to dismiss key copyright claims. The ruling also rejected LEGO’s fair-use defence at this stage and said that giving the original jacket to Porowski did not automatically give LEGO permission to reproduce the artwork.
That does not mean the court has made a final finding that LEGO infringed the copyright. It means the case can continue.
And because we are looking at the real Antoni, not just the minifigure, we are also including his boyfriend, Zacharias Niedzwiecki.
A Queer Eye fashion moment has become a legal fight over who gets to borrow from queer creativity — and who gets paid when they do.
📷 @antoni @zacharias
Watch more LGBTQ+ stories on B-Gay on YouTube.