Toronto's Crystal Castles have settled a lawsuit with the artist Trevor Brown after they used his "Bruised Madonna" image for their merchandise without permission. The duo, Ethan Kath and Alice Glass, say they found the uncredited image on a flyer a few years ago and began using it for their own flyers, T-shirts and CD cover art. Their manager Mickey Apples apparently told the Torontoist, "it was their hope that the artist might reveal themselves and make contact with the band".
When contact was established between the band and Brown, a Tokyo-based artist, the latter alleges that the relationship, although initially polite, turned sour after the band failed to keep to agreements made between the two parties. Brown alleges Crystal Castles continued to use the image without his permission, resulting in a series of posts on his blog with titles such as "lies hype bullshit theft pathetic children" and "fuck Crystal Castles".
The artist has now confirmed the issue has been resolved on the same blog, posting details that you'll find next to the delightful "amputee robot doll bondage: volume 2" post. Striking a bitter and triumphant tone, Brown writes: "Hallelujah. It's a miracle, there is a God!" The post indicates that a change in Crystal Castles' management has finally brought the matter to a close: "Crystal Castles now have full rights to the image and I retain my own reproduction rights on it … Crystal Castles also take full legal responsibility for their use of the image," a detail the band may regret if Brown's other observation that "the black eyed Madonna is now officially and legally theirs, to do with as they please … at least until Maddy herself files a lawsuit, ha ha!" comes true.
So while Brown is left to pursue his obsession with images of beaten-up women in peace, Crystal Castles are left a little lighter of pocket and with that other alleged copyright issue to ponder over.