Teen Artist From Oceanside Sues Target Over Kids Merchandise Design

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) -- An Oceanside teen artist is accusing Target of copyright infringement.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court on Monday by Kristen Cooley, the mother of artist Nolan Ocean Cooley, who also has autism.

The Cooleys claim that Target ripped off the teen's "sketch-style dot art" in designs for kids merchandise sold under the Cat & Jack brand.

According to the suit, Target had online access to the teen's work before launching the Cat & Jack line in 2016 and contacted the artist in summer 2018.

The suit specifically refers to the teen's collection of 15 works titled "Circle Happiness."

"The calling card of Nolan's original works in this collection is the unique manner in which he has designed, created, combined, arranged and colored imperfect, sketch-style dots that he hand-drew into idiosyncratic patterns," the lawsuit says.

The artist frequently shares his work through his website and social media.

"At Target, we have a deep appreciation and respect for design rights," Target said in a statement. "We have not been formally served and therefore don't have anything to share by way of public comment at this time."

The suit seeks unspecified damages and attorneys' fees.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)