Quavo is facing a copyright lawsuit centered on a recent music video — not over an uncleared sample or a stolen melody, but a quartz sculpture of a 1961 Ferrari that he used as a prop.
In a complaint filed late last month, attorneys for sculptor Daniel Arsham claim the rapper (Quavious Marshall) “unlawfully exploited” the Ferrari sculpture by rapping in front of it in a video he posted to TikTok and other social platforms in December.
“Without his consent, and without his knowledge, defendants created a video which prominently featured the artwork to promote the music of Quavo,” Arsham’s lawyers write in the March 31 lawsuit. “Mr. Arsham never consented to the artwork being used in the infringing content.”
Arsham created the sculpture — fully entitled “Quartz Eroded 1961 Ferrari GT” — in 2018 as part of a series portraying famous cars that have been “eroded” like an ancient archeological find. He says it’s been publicly displayed twice, most recently at Los Angeles’ Petersen Automotive Museum in 2023.
In December, Quavo posted a video to Instagram and other platforms under the caption “Back To The Basics 2025!!”, featuring him rapping in front of what appears to be Arsham’s work. The video, which remains on TikTok, focuses heavily on the sculpture, including close-ups on its eroded features.
Just like music, books and paintings, sculptures are protected by federal copyright law, and reproducing one without permission can theoretically amount to infringement. Back in 2018, the artist behind Chicago’s “Bean” sculpture sued the National Rifle Association for using the famed statue in a promotional video.
Copyrighted works captured in the background of video footage raise tricky legal questions. A federal judge ruled in 2018 that a Detroit graffiti artist could move ahead with suing General Motors after his mural appeared in a Cadillac commercial. But last year, another federal judge dismissed a case filed by a photographer whose image briefly appeared in the background of a documentary about Billie Eilish.
In his lawsuit, Arsham says the use of his sculpture was hardly coincidental or brief: “The infringing video features Quavo performing in front of the Artwork. The Infringing Video is 45 seconds long and features the Artwork prominently throughout.”
According to the artist’s attorneys, when Quavo posted still images of the video to Instagram, he actually tagged Arsham’s Instagram handle in the caption. They say that not only confirms that he knew he was using a copyrighted work, but also violated Arsham’s likeness rights.
“Mr. Arsham never consented to his name being used in connection with the Infringing Post or any promotion of Quavo,” his attorneys wrote. “Defendants are using Mr. Arsham’s name for commercial advantage.”
A rep for Quavo did not immediately return a request for comment on Friday (April 11). The lawsuit also names Quavo’s label, Quality Control Music, and its parent company, HYBE America, as co-defendants.
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