Nyan Cat Artist Accuses Sum 41 Of Copyright Violation Following Meme-Filled Video

After the long-awaited comeback last week of Canadian pop punk icons Sum 41, the band are in the midst of copyright controversy following the meme-heavy release of their first single in five years, Fake My Own Death.

As Forbes reports, the artist of classic cat meme Nyan Cat (you know, the Pop Tart-shaped flying cat that leaves behind a trail of rainbow stardust?), Chris Torres, has hit out at the band for allegedly failing to reach out for permission for the use of the famous meme.

"There are procedures and agreements for when someone wants to use my art commercially, and Sum 41/Hopeless Records skipped all of the formalities that other brands have highly sought Nyan Cat out for," Torres said.

Nyan Cat is not the only reference to popular culture in the video, which also includes Kim Kardashian's famous Paper Magazine cover, Miley on her wrecking ball, Doge, Kermit The Frog drinking tea, Seth Rogen, Spiderman, Shia LeBeouf's "Just Do It!" and heaps more. 

"At the end of the day, I’m just like any other lone indie artist and it sucks when I see my art making other people a lot of money without permission. If they didn’t see any actual value in Nyan Cat, then they wouldn’t have used it in the first place," continued Torres.

Torres' manager Ben Lashes, who looks after the rights of meme-royalty like Doge, Grumpy Cat and Scumbag Steve, says they've reached out to Sum 41, music video director Marc Klasfeld and their label Hopeless Records with no reply.

"The band may see their blatant infringement as a ‘punk rock’ move to reclaim some glory, or that stealing from the web is somehow only sticking it to the man, but with Nyan Cat and Doge they are ripping off an independent artist and independent photographer who rely on proper licensing of their works in order to continue creating," Lashes told Forbes. "That’s not punk rock. It’s just disrespectful, and against the law. As with any infringement of my clients property, we are taking this very seriously."