Cat, Friend Sued by Michelangelo Estate

A local cat named Fozzie and his friend Jason Arnett are being sued by the estate of artists Michelangelo for copyright infringement after uploading a recreation of the famed “The Creation of Adam” fresco from the Sistine Chapel to photo sharing site Imgur.

“The two were just goofing around and thought the photo was funny,” said Francine Stephenson, legal counsel for the defendants. “Regardless, this lawsuit has no merit. That Sistine Chapel is definitely out of copyright. That was painted like 500 years ago. We’ll be filing a motion to dismiss.”

The picture, meanwhile, has gone viral as a result of the lawsuit. If the goal of the Michelangelo estate was to have the photo removed from the internet and seen less, they’ve badly miscalculated. It’s now been viewed millions of times on sites like Reddit, Tumblr, and 9GAG.

Both Fozzie and Arnett declined to provide comment on the advice of their lawyer.

Via cat_turd_burglar.