• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, June 25, 2015

Brooklyn artist Maya Hayuk spoke with Starbucks agency 72andSunny over the course of eight days regarding her artwork and how it might be incorporated into promotional work for the new Starbucks Mini Frappuccino. But after the eight days, she told the agency she was too busy to create new work and the talks ended.

Upon launch of the Mini Frappuccino, Hayuk felt the rainbow-style artwork was a bit too similar to work of her own and she filed a $750,000 copyright infringement lawsuit against Starbucks saying the finished product was "strikingly similar" to her work. 

The lawsuit states: "Starbucks brazenly created artwork that is substantially similar to one or more of Hayuk’s copyrighted works.” Hayuk's lawyer added: “When things like this happen, it cheapens the value of the art -- it’s really true. And her only source of income is her art.”

For its part, a Starbucks spokesperson said: “We are aware a complaint has been filed, and we are investigating the allegations.”