The foundation of legendary minimalist artist Donald Judd (1928-94) is suing entrepreneur and reality TV star Kim Kardashian and Los Angeles interior design firm Clements Design, alleging that the firm misrepresented tables and chairs furnished for Skkn’s offices. Kim, Kardashian’s company, as the actual design of Judd.
The Judd Foundation’s lawsuit, filed Wednesday (March 27) in California’s Central District Court, accuses Kardashian and Clements Design of trademark infringement, copyright infringement, unfair competition, false advertising and false endorsement. The Judd Foundation seeks any profits that Kardashian and Clements Design may receive from the alleged false representations of the tables and chairs as genuine works by Judd, and that all examples of the allegedly infringing furniture be recalled and destroyed. The New York Times first report the case
The offending desks and their corresponding seats were first seen in August 2022, when Kardashian posted a video tour of her company’s offices on YouTube (the video has since been deleted, but remains available via the Internet Archive).). In the video, while showing off a large shared kitchen and dining room, Kardashian says: “You guys are furniture, I’ve been really into furniture lately, these Donald Judd tables are so amazing and they match the seating perfectly.” By the end of January this year, the video had been viewed more than 3.6 million times.
In its lawsuit, the Judd Foundation cites a Clements Design design proposal created by Kim for Skkn, which includes two “Donald Judd-style dining tables” and 24 “Donald Judd-style dining chairs.” The illustrations of the products being offered, the suit says, are photographs of actual Judd furniture: his La Mansana Table 22 (1982) and Chair 84 (1982). A representative of the foundation told him The times that the table sells for $90,000 and the chairs for $9,000.
“Ma’am. Kardashian’s furniture is fake. The presence of real furniture undermines integrity [Judd’s] Original work that includes design, craftsmanship and material specifications,” said Rainer Judd, the artist’s daughter and president of the Judd Foundation. “Today, the Judd Foundation works directly with select manufacturers to maintain the quality standards set for its furniture. This requires that all furniture made and sold under his name must be made by Donald Judd Furniture.”
t Tables and chairs by Donald Judd (left) and “Donald Judd style” by Clements Design (right) Court documents
Megan K. Bannigan, attorney for the Judd Foundation, added, “This case is about protecting the Judd Foundation’s intellectual property rights, including its trademarks and copyrights. […] Fake furniture has caused a lot of consumer confusion; Millions of Ms. Kardashian’s followers believe that Ms. Kardashian’s office furniture is real Donald Judd furniture. It also undermines the Judd Foundation’s ability to control the quality of works created using Donald Judd’s iconic designs and the goodwill that exists in those creations.”
The Judd Foundation initially contacted Kardashian and Clements Design shortly after the video was posted in the summer of 2022. At the time, the foundation demanded that the furniture in question be destroyed and that Kardashian issue a public statement; her representatives instead offered to update the video’s caption information and create a separate social media post saying Kardashian supported the Judd Foundation, an offer the foundation rejected.
John Uline, an attorney with Clements Design, said the firm’s furniture varied significantly from Judd designs, including using different types of wood and proportions. “They are different tables with different designs,” he wrote The times. The company believed the dispute had been settled, and said it had no contact with representatives of the Judd Foundation for more than a year before this week’s legal filing. The foundation says in its lawsuit that it “attempted to resolve this matter with Clements Design and Ms. Kardashian in an amicable and reasonable request. The Judd Foundation is now left with no choice but to file this complaint.”
Rainer Judd added: “If the work of creators can be usurped without repercussions and exploited by other people, what protection will there be for artists and designers to create more in the future?”
