Street art in its humble beginnings was all about getting up in places without permission. But once your name is ‘up’ worldwide and people are trying to use the things you have created to make money without permission, it’s time to send the lawyers in. KAWS did just that and now a Singaporean counterfeiter’s companies must pay him nearly US$1 million.

On May 2, a US District Court found that Singaporean Dylan Joy An Leong Yi Zh and the companies that he has been working with, The Penthouse Collective and The Penthouse Theory, were guilty of reproducing KAWS’ COMPANION figure and other pieces that total in US$63 million.

KAWS’ lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter to Dylan in 2020 for creating products that put a chill on the market for his collectible merchandise. The lawyer also stated that people buying KAWS merchandise will now be worried about it being fake. Because Singapore recognizes U.S. court decisions, Dylan and his companies must pay KAWS US$900,000.