Gaspard Augé Calls Justin Bieber’s Justice Art “A Very Conscious Rip-Off”

Gaspard Augé Calls Justin Bieber’s Justice Art “A Very Conscious Rip-Off”

The design of the word “Justice” on Justin Bieber’s new album Justice and its affiliated merchandise happens to look a whole lot like the French dance duo Justice’s trademarked cross logo. Justice sent a cease-and-desist notice to Justin Bieber in March, arguing that the resemblance constitutes illegal infringement and claiming that Bieber’s management actually reached out to Justice’s team to connect with their logo designer. And now, Justice’s Gaspard Augé — who just released his debut solo album Escapades — has commented on the dispute in a new interview with The Guardian.

“It’s how the world works today, and it’s a bit sad,” Augé says. “Though Bieber is from Canada, his actions fit this mindset of American hegemony: ‘Oh well, it’s just a small band from France, I’m sure we can take their name, nobody will care.’ … Obviously, we don’t own the word ‘Justice’ and we don’t own the cross. But [Bieber’s] management got in touch first to ask where our logo came from, so it’s not some unhappy coincidence. To me, it’s a very conscious rip-off. And that’s where the problem is.”

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