There is a major new development in the public dispute between the founders of the Weather Report NFT project, and its former artist. NFTevening has learned that the project founders, Zach Hunkins and Will Nichols, have filed a civil lawsuit in federal court against Dentin Garrett. Through the lawsuit, the two founders are seeking a judge’s declaration that they did not infringe upon any copyright of Garrett’s with their NFT project.
Hunkins and Nichols spoke to NFTevening about the reasons for the lawsuit, and how they hope that a judge’s ruling will counter Garrett’s claims against them. Accusations that they believe have disparaged both them and their project.
Weather Report founders hope the lawsuit will clear their names
The back-and-forth between the two parties began when Garrett took to Twitter on Feb. 16 to claim that he was actually the founding artist of Weather Report. In a nine-page document accompanying his initial tweet, Garrett laid out his version of events.
In short, Garrett claimed to be the sole creator of Weather Report’s base character. What’s more, he alleged that Hunkins and Nichols had continued to use his artistic creations after kicking him off the team due to a disagreement over revenue splits.
Predictably, the public fallout following Garrett’s accusations has been ugly, with both sides offering up contradictory stories. Complicating the story further is the fact that Garrett began to market an NFT project of his own shortly after making the allegations against the Weather Report founders.
Without a doubt, the two projects share branding and artwork that are incredibly similar. So much so that Hunkins and Nichols labeled it “ridiculously derivative”.
Weather Report founders share their side of the story
The Weather Report team reached out to NFTevening to share their version of events. They also supplied NFTevening with a copy of their legal complaint.
In essence, Hunkins and Nichols contend that this all happened because of Garrett’s demands. They say that Garrett wanted full IP rights and a higher share of equity in Weather Report. They also believe that Garrett’s claims against them came as a result of them not submitting to those demands.
The two Weather Report founders added that they “have been met with threats, bullying, and overall negativity around our work” since Garrett’s initial allegations. As such, they say that they are “making this a legal matter in defense of our character”.
In addition, they highlight that they did not come to the decision lightly. Rather, after speaking with their legal team, they decided that this was their best course of action. They also noted that “it was never our intention to have a public feud with Dentin.”
Asked to elaborate on some of their initial statements, the Weather Report founders provided the following responses via email. Their statements are presented without additional comment. Some quotes are condensed or lightly edited for clarity.
On how they met Garrett and hired him for Weather Report:
We met Dentin through [Hunkins’] fiancé’s cousin in the final days of December 2021. They were partners on an NFT project called “Dead Artist Society”, a skeleton-themed PFP project based on famous dead people. They approached [Hunkins] for Web3 help and creative direction to help take that project to the next level. After a series of meetings, [Hunkins] proposed to Dentin an opportunity to make some extra cash on the side by assisting us with some illustration work [for Weather Report].
We were originally going to pay Dentin a flat fee but decided to give him a percent of initial revenue and secondary royalties in the spirit of Web3. Keep in mind his main goal was always to launch his own project Dead Artist Society. Looking back, we only knew and worked with Dentin for a little over 2 weeks.
On their belief that Garrett used the NFT space’s pro-artist ethos in order to market his own NFT project:
This was a calculated move that was used as a major publicity stunt for his “Dented Feels” project. A project that was based around our theme of weather & emotion; the character design that was created from all of our references and hands-on instruction, and utilized all of the creative direction from our original conceived expressions. All of which predated Dentin’s two-week relationship with us and our brand. Dentin knew his claimed narrative would spread like wildfire in the Web 3 arena.
On their belief that Garrett relied on racial tropes in his accusations against them. And that there is a racial component to the situation that the public has overlooked:
When a Caucasian man falsely accuses two Black career creatives of stealing, lying, and harassing women on a massive public stage, it should not be taken lightly. These sorts of false allegations have consistently led to horrendous outcomes for People of Color in this country for hundreds of years.
Dentin Garrett, a White male, has also stolen the entire brand identity, brand ethos, character concept, and logo from two Black artists and used it for financial gain. This is another example of the common narrative we all, unfortunately, know too well. All of this also occurred during Black History Month. A month in which our culture and accomplishments are supposed to be celebrated.
On their initial response to the allegations, and what they would have done differently:
We should have taken a moment to contain our emotions before immediately jumping into a Twitter space to defend ourselves. We’ve grown and learned from this a lot. I also feel that we should have responded with our facts and receipts sooner.
On their advice to up-and-coming project founders when it comes to bringing outside people onto an NFT project:
- Take your time! Make sure to vet the person you are considering hiring. Immediately have them sign the proper documents and contracts before discussing detailed specifics with them.
- I would also express the massive level of dedication, time, and persistence that it takes to launch an NFT project. This is not for the faint of heart.
- Be authentic, creative, and original when coming up with your project theme and vision.
The outcome of this lawsuit remains to be seen. Perhaps it will be able to provide some clarity in the matter. Certainly, the founders of Weather Report believe that it will, and in a way that supports their statements. You can read the full legal filing for yourself here.
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