Starbucks Sued For Forging Maya Hayuk's Art

Global coffee company Starbucks has received a copyright complaint from an international artist regarding the presence of her artwork in the 'Mini Frappuccino' campaign. Maya Hayuk sued the coffee house chain for a large amount of $750,000 in copyright fines, which does not include other unnamed cash damages.

New York Post reports that the artist was dismayed when she saw her artwork on ads and promotional posters. The Frappuccino containers also had a design similar to hers.

A Starbucks spokeswoman issued a statement clarifying that they are not ignoring the accusations. "We are aware a complaint has been filed, and we are investigating the allegations," according to the representative.

Hayuk claims that the designs in the Frappuccino campaign are similar to her copyrighted artworks. Like her designs, Starbucks used abstract, beams of different colors like yellow, magenta, azure, black and white. As stated in the lawsuit, the company's art creations are identical to one or more of the artist's works.

The allegations can somehow be true since 72andSunny, the coffee company's ad agency once offered a job opportunity to her last October. The agency admitted in an email that they were captivated by her works, but due to her hectic schedule, Hayuk back out from the offer.

She has accomplished projects for prominent companies like Microsoft, Sony, Reebok, Billabong and General Motors.

Hayuk is aware of the scope of the campaign, which doesn't only run all over the U.S. Her designs are being carried in more than 21,000 retail locations in 66 different countries.

Her lawyer Aaron Silverstein stated the consequences of the event, saying that "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."

Mayuk and her lawyer noted in the complaint that her work from 2009 to 2011 is striking similarity to Starbucks' design. She even included images of her work as proof.