I support Nadia Plesner

Danish artist Nadia Plesner has been sued for a sum of 5000 Euros a day for depicting what Louis Vuitton is calling an infringement of their intellectual property.    You can read an unofficial English Translation of the Court Order here. (PDF)

Here is a copy of the work in question, with apologies to the artist.  

Here is an image of the Bag, with no apologies whatsoever.

                                                   

Images of the starving child set up in celebrity style with a toy dog and fancy bag are being sold in shirt and poster format with profits going to Divest for Darfur. In response Louis Vuitton issued the following statement.  "This issue is important to Louis Vuitton because it directly impacts the brand on which our company has been built and which we must protect,"  (I can't find the original release so I am linking to the Reuters article I took it from.)

Now, it is understandable why Louis Vuitton would want to keep a firm hand on the branding of their product.  And the depiction of a starved and naked child from a war torn area of Africa doesn't exactly fit with the image of luxury and exclusivity the brand has cultivated. I think we are seeing the most wrong reaction possible.   It would be more sensible for them to take advantage of this work to be seen doing good deeds by authorizing the T shirts and other works provided that they only go to relief efforts in Darfur.  This way someone copying their image doesn't profit, and they can transition the already damage done to their brand into good PR for helping peoples in need.

From Wikipedia article on Louis Vuitton:

"The Louis Vuitton Brand and the famous LV monogram are among the world's most valuable brands. According to a Millward Brown 2010 study, Louis Vuitton is the world's 29th most valuable brand, right after Wells Fargo and before Gillette . The brand itself is estimated to be worth USD 19.781 billion.^[13] "

A brand worth $20Billion is worried about a small project that would have only been noticed in very small circles if not for the above mentioned lawsuit. In some ways we have to thank them for bringing attention back to Darfur; Mainly we need to scold them for seeing litigation as the only means of discourse in this matter. I feel that a more suitable option was presented above, but then I am the one presenting it.  What can you do about all this?  Donate to Darfur through the artist,  and of course when it comes to LV; Write them a message, inundate the website with requests that they help the people of Darfur, and that you view the attack on Nadia as a retreat from what you value in a brand.

Update, the following text appears on the Original website linked to.

"Louis Vuitton deeply regret to inform you that the Contact form is currently unavailable. Should you require information or help, please send your email at contact_en@louisvuitton.com or call us on 020 7399 4050. Our Customer Service will be happy to assist you and answer all your questions as quickly as possible."

Please email or call them with your opinion.