Indonesia theme park Rabbit Town loses 'Love Light' copyright lawsuit

Los Angeles-based Chris Burden Estate has won its lawsuit against Bandung’s commercial theme park "Rabbit Town", after the former accused Rabbit Town of plagiarising late artist Chris Burden’s “Urban Light” art installation in Los Angeles last June. According to Yayoi Shionoiri, executive director at the Chris Burden Estate, the court has dictated that Rabbit Town is to remove what it calls the "Love Light" installation and issue a public apology to Chris Burden Estate.

The court has found that Rabbit Town has modified "Urban Light" without Chris Burden Estate’s approval, and, therefore, violated the Estate’s rights. It also said there was substantial similarity between "Urban Light" and "Love Light", and deemed that "Love Light" was not an original work, as Rabbit Town had previous knowledge of Urban Light. Thus, the factors to prove copyright infringement under Indonesian law were fulfilled.

In a statement to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Shionoiri said: "This is a landmark case for the Indonesian court system, and a win for all artists globally. We believe this decision sets a precedent that artist rights can be protected internationally through the application of the copyright framework. We truly appreciate the analysis undertaken and decision pronounced by the Indonesian court, and the support we have received over the years from IABF Law Firm, including Chandra Kurniawan, Erwin Purba, Muhammad Ryan Dwi Saputra, Joshi Mayer, Dr. Binoto Nadapdap, Ebenezer Sianipar and Roy Rinaldo."

“Urban Light” is made up of over 200 street lamps, while Rabbit Town’s “Love Light” art installation is a work of 88 light pillars. "Urban Light" has made a cameo in Hollywood movies such as No Strings Attached and Valentine's Day.

(Photo courtesy: Yayoi Shionoiri's Instagram)

Rabbit Town was opened to public in 2018, and apart from “Love Light”, has several art installations and exhibitions to draw tourists. Two of the installations at Rabbit Town which features hanging Ice Cream cones and coloured bananas dons a striking resemblance to the concept at Los Angeles-based Museum of Ice Cream. 

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