Diddy & Sean Jean Called Out for Allegedly Stealing T-Shirt Design

It's interesting when major celebrities get called out for copying. This happens so often, you would think that their staff lawyers would be more careful about reviewing the products they put out. The business implications of someone accusing a star of stealing, whether the alleged theft is of a song or a clothing design, are high. When a star is accused of borrowing too heavily from the creativity of another, this weakens the star's brand, because it makes them seem less potent. It also opens up a celebrity worth millions to law suits that probably outweigh the worth of what was allegedly borrowed from.

Diddy and his fashion brand Sean John are being accused by the creators of a poster that was commissioned by the Yale School of Architecture over this issue. Pentagram Design accuses the star of appropriating the design of a poster, created for a symposium held by the school, and using it on a shirt:

Image Courtesy of Gawker.com

As you can see, it looks very damning. Who knows, maybe it was just a coincidence. But the incident has staffers at the design firm miffed, and they are tweeting about it. Gawker.com has the whole story:

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Sean Diddy Combs:Through The Years

Diddy: Through the Years
From launching his uber-successful Bad Boy Records label to taking on a comedic role in the new movie 'Get Him To The Greek,' Sean 'Diddy' Combs has never been complacent in the career moves he's made. Here's a look at some of his biggest career accomplishments over the past 20 years.

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Sean Diddy Combs:Through The Years

Truly "The Man," Diddy's Bad Boy Records hip-hop label has reportedly sold over 80 million records with acts like The Notorious B.I.G., 112 and Faith Evans on its roster. Diddy has also starred on Broadway, ran the New York City marathon and still be known to throw a blow-out party.

Sean Diddy Combs:Through The Years

Sean John Combs was born in the Harlem section of New York City on November 4, 1969.

Sean Diddy Combs:Through The Years

Combs was an avid break-dancer. He appeared in Father MC's 'Treat Them Like They Want to be Treated' music video in 1991.

Sean Diddy Combs:Through The Years

Combs attended Howard University in Washington, DC, and spent his weekends commuting to New York to intern at Andre Harrell's Uptown Records. He eventually dropped out of college to work as an executive at Uptown, where he worked on Mary J. Blige's debut 'What's the 411?'

Sean Diddy Combs:Through The Years

In 1992, Diddy oversaw and executive produced 'What's the 411' the debut album of Mary J. Blige. He dubbed her the 'Queen of Hip-Hop Soul' – a moniker she goes by to this date. He also helmed production on her 1994 'My Life' album and 2003 'Love and Life' album.

Sean Diddy Combs:Through The Years

In 1993, Combs, who also began going by the nickname 'Puff Daddy,' was fired from Uptown Records. Instead of going to work for another record company, he decided to start his own, Bad Boy Records.

Sean Diddy Combs:Through The Years

Diddy shared a close relationship with music industry titan, Clive Davis during the 1990s. The Arista Records founder -- who is credited with crafting Whitney Houston's mega career -- signed Diddy's Bad Boy Records imprint to a multimillion dollar distribution deal.

Sean Diddy Combs:Through The Years

Combs signed heavyset Brooklyn rapper The Notorious B.I.G. in 1992. After the release of Biggie Smalls' debut 'Ready to Die,' in 1994, he quickly became one of the countries biggest hip-hop stars. Also on the Bad Boy roster was B.I.G.'s wife/R&B singer Faith Evans, R&B trio Total and R&B guy group112.

Sean Diddy Combs:Through The Years

Tired of being behind-the-scenes, Combs started to rap under his moniker Puff Daddy. He was featured in Lil' Kim's 1996 solo track, 'No Time' and appeared in her first music video. This was all before becoming a chart-topping Grammy Award winner in his own right.

Sean Diddy Combs:Through The Years

Pentagram Design, which made the poster, called Sean John's shirt design a "shocking ripoff" on their staff Twitter account. Unfortunately, @PentagramDesign failed to @-tweet @IAmDiddy, so who knows if he even knows it happened. Someone needs to teach these people the proper way to call a rap mogul out.

Read the rest at Gawker.com.

I am not sure if calling Diddy out is the issue. As a man who started his fortune-building by sampling extremely popular songs heavily, Diddy is no stranger to borrowing the creativity of another. In fact, "sampling" of the kind that allegedly occurred for this t-shirt design is part of the aesthetic of hip-hop. The difference is that Diddy paid royalties to the artists and labels responsible for the samples that helped make him rich. He also brought older songs and acts new life through his Bad Boy productions. Pentagram Design actually has an opportunity to expand its business through the rap mogul if they try to work out a licensing deal with Diddy. This makes much more sense than "calling him out."

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Perhaps a misunderstanding occurred. Maybe Sean Jean "stole" the design. Who knows. But in general, if you "sample" a clothing design, song or image, you have to pay to play. In the Internet age, it's almost impossible to keep secrets. And it's just better business to be completely honest -- and use legal resources to prevent such mishaps from happening.