Justice’s Gaspard Augé says Justin Bieber’s album artwork is a “conscious rip-off”.
The French electric pop duo Augé and Xavier de Rosnay became embroiled in a legal battle with Bieber after alleging that the artwork for his latest album ‘Justice’ infringes on their own logo, the word Justice with a cross for the t.
Augé told The Guardian newspaper: “Obviously, we don’t own the word ‘Justice’ and we don’t own the cross. But [Bieber’s] management got in touch first to ask where our logo came from, so it’s not some unhappy coincidence. To me, it’s a very conscious rip-off. And that’s where the problem is.
“Though Bieber is from Canada, his actions fit this mindset of American hegemony: ‘Oh well, it’s just a small band from France, I’m sure we can take their name, nobody will care … ’”
Bieber’s team have denied the claims.
Meanwhile, Augé also revealed he was shocked by the split of Daft Punk – who Justice have been compared to – in March after 28 years.
He said: “It came as a surprise for me, as for everybody. I think it was a noble move to leave the stage like that, departing at their peak rather than bowing to pressure or money. Hats off to them.”