Many Frida Kahlo fans who want to honor the artist, drawn by her unbreakable spirit and her unique way to portray her pain on the canvas, visit exhibitions of her work or purchase posters and other items featuring her art. But in doing so, they may not be respecting her legacy or wishes, her relatives say.
A legal dispute over how her trademarks can be used is before a Florida appeals court this summer and could set precedents that affect other artists.
On one side of the dispute, which has been going on for years, are relatives of the famous Mexican artist; on the other is the U.S.-based Frida Kahlo Corporation (FKC), which has long owned the trademark rights for certain Kahlo-themed products sold in the United States.
In the middle is the public, said William Scott Goldman, a lawyer specializing in branding, “the people interested in seeing an exhibition or owning pieces that reference an artist who has been beloved by generations.”
These legal disputes create confusion and can pose a challenge to consumers, Goldman said, as people may have purchased a product thinking it represented the artist’s vision accurately but are then faced with doubts about whether that’s the case.
The origin of the disagreement
The dispute has been dragging on since 2018. That year, Kahlo’s grandniece, Mara Cristina Teresa Romeo Pinedo — who was granted power of attorney over the late artist’s property rights in 2003 — complained that FKC had granted Mattel the rights to make a Frida-inspired Barbie.
Romeo Pinedo argued that Kahlo would not have wanted to be represented with a doll that conceals her iconic unibrow. Mattel argued that it did obtain permission to produce the doll through the FKC and that it worked with them legally during development.
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https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/frida-kahlo-trademark-lawsuit-rcna226576
