Conde Nast Sues Drake and 21 Savage Over Fake Vogue Cover
Condé Nast, the famous global media company and notable owners of Vogue, the New Yorker, and Vanity Fair among other publications, have sued Drake and 21 Savage after they used their photo as a fake cover of, the well-known fashion magazine, Vogue.[1] They decided to promote their new album “Her Loss”, by publishing on their Instagram page the fake cover without any previous authorization by the company.[2]
A few days before the launch of the new album Drake made a post with the statement, “Me and my brother on newsstands tomorrow!! Thanks @voguemagazine and Anna Wintour for the love and support on this historic moment. Her Loss Nov 4th.” and distributed some hard copies of the “counterfeit” magazine, which included some real Vouge’s articles.[3] They also hung some posters of the cover in the streets of New York, Los Angeles, and Santa Monica.[4] See the following image for the Instagram post:[5]
The two singers are not new to this kind of publicity for their new album. They also faked a “Saturday Night Live” performance where they were introduced by Michael B. Jordan, who pretended to be the host of the show, and then posted it on YouTube and Instagram at the beginning of November.[6] They also appeared on NPR’s Tiny Desk series and The Howard Stern Show.[7]
On November 7th, Condé Nast filed suit in the Southern District of New York arguing that Drake and 21 Savage were exploiting the “tremendous value that a cover feature in Vogue magazine carries.”[8] Condé Nast, in its complaint, wrote that the album’s promotional campaign was “built entirely on the use of the VOGUE marks and the premise that Drake and 21 Savage would be featured on the cover of Vogue’s next issue.”[9] They added that the content of the fake magazine was “an exact reproduction of Condé Nast’s copyrightable content.”[10]
They complained that Anna Wintour, Vouge’s editor-in-chief, “ha[s] had no involvement in Her Loss or its promotion, and have not endorsed it in any way.”[11] The company stated that the posts, both on Instagram and Twitter, were causing “public deception” and “confusion” and that “[t]he confusion among the public is unmistakable” after many media sources reported the news about the collaboration between the artists and Vogue.[12]
Condé Nast seeks $4 million in damages or triple the Defendants’ profits from the sales of the Album and the “Counterfeit Magazine.”[13] They are also asking for the immediate removal of the physical copies and posters of the fake magazine and for the elimination of all social media posts.[14] Moreover, they requested punitive damages and immediate termination of trademark infringement.[15]
The U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff granted a preliminary injunction because the fake cover was probably violating the Vouge’s trademarks and it was “misleading consumers” and “deceiving the public.”[16] Drake and 21 Savage, however, have stated that they will keep fighting the case, but in the meanwhile they decided to take of the social media posts in order “to avoid unnecessary cost and expense.”[17]
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