Legal dispute around giant KAWS exhibition put to rest with apology

The Ryan Foundation (TRF) and its directors Ryan Su and Adrian Chan have apologised for wrongly accusing Hong Kong-based creative brand AllRightsReserved (ARR) of breaching intellectual property rights and misuse of confidential information. According to the official statement on released on 26 September 2022, ARR said that it has achieved a "satisfactory settlement" of its disputes with The Ryan Foundation and TRF’s directors, Su Hing Leng, Ryan and Adrian Chan Zhi Ming, during a mediation that took place on 21 September 2022.

The parties have also since signed a public statement to apologise to ARR. In their public statement, they have confirmed and acknowledged that the allegations made against ARR in relation to the ‘KAWS:HOLIDAY SINGAPORE’ exhibition are incorrect, and that ARR had the right to organise and conduct the Exhibition in Singapore. They have also apologised for any embarrassment and/or distress that the allegations have caused to ARR and its officers.

ARR said that it is glad that the disputes are now satisfactorily resolved. "We would like to thank our long-time collaborator, acclaimed contemporary artist KAWS, partners and friends who have remained steadfast in their support of us throughout. We also wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to our most professional and trusted legal advisors, Anthony Tong and his team at Robin Bridge & John Liu (from Hong Kong), and our instructed Singapore counsel, Stanley Lai, SC, Peh Aik Hin and their team at Allen & Gledhill LLP, who did an extraordinary job in helping us achieve the satisfactory resolution of the disputes," said the statement. 

“We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and colossal support for the exhibition from the most affectionate Singaporeans. We hope to return to the city and meet you all very soon,” the statement read.

An Instagram post on ARR's account also showed a statement provided by TRF, where the company clarified that on 10 November 2021, it obtained an interim injunction order against ARR to restrain the exhibition. On 15 November 2021, ARR successfully applied to set aside the injunction order and the court ordered an inquiry as to damages against TRF.

However, TRF did not take any steps to vary or appeal the said order to set aside the interim injunction. It also posted and published on news and social media platforms about the allegations against ARR. “ARR had the right to organise and conduct the exhibition in Singapore. We apologise for any embarrassment or distress that the allegations have caused to ARR and its officers,” the letter read.

This comes as the outdoor exhibition was halted back in November 2021 after The Ryan Foundation kicked off court proceedings against organiser AllRightsReserved and other relevant parties involved in the KAWS:HOLIDAY artwork at The Float @ Marina Bay for breaching confidentiality and intellectual property rights. The exhibition, supported by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), featured a 42m-long inflatable of KAWS' signature character, COMPANION, created by international artist Brian Donnelly. The exhibition was slated to run until 21 November 2021. 

However, the organisers were accused to have breached an earlier court order to stop the exhibition and carried on to host a private preview for invited social media influencers on its opening day, 13 November 2021. A spokesperson then said “various parties had known that confidential information and intellectual property rights, among other things, were at risk of being misused and still continue to be involved in a project that exploits home-grown stakeholders in the Singapore arts landscape.” 

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