Maldivian artist Shimhaq wins against Aaron in U.S. Court

Maldivian artist Ali Shimhaq has won charges against celebrity musician Aaron Carter who was accused of stealing his digital artwork.

This is the first time a Maldivian has won such a copyright case at a foreign court.

Shimhaq's digital painting, which depicts a lion's face, was on his Facebook page Digital Chemist Arts and was taken and used by Aaron in September 2019. Aaron deleted the painting from his Instagram account after Shimhaq ran an online campaign against him.

However, Shimhaq had charged Aaron in a New York court for violating his intellectual property without his permission.

In an interview with "Mihaaru", Shimhaq said that after two years of effort put at the U.S. District Court, Aaron was proven guilty of using stolen artwork.

Shimhaq's lawyers have filed a motion against Aaron seeking financial compensation under the U.S. Copyright Act.

Shimhaq said that the Court had ordered Aaron to pay the fees of his lawyers in addition to damages and financial compensation. While Aaron has made the payment, the amount he paid was not disclosed.

"My cosmic lion's artwork has now been registered with the U.S. Copyright Office to protect it from further infringements," Shimhaq said.

Shaifa Shahid, who worked as shimhaq's lawyer, told "Mihaaru" that artists do not have legal protection in such cases in the Maldives and that the legal framework needs to be improved to protect the rights of creators, artists and other vulnerable groups.

"When a local artist's rights are violated, the rights of the artist should be protected by local laws," Shaifa said.

Lawyer Hamza Haleel, who advocated in the case, said that it was important to consider the current copyright law in the Maldives in relation to Shimhaq's case.

Hamza said that goods should be registered and patented in the Maldives and that it is the responsibility of the Ministry of Arts and Culture to do so.

Shaifa and Hamza worked with U.S. law firm Sanders Law Group in shimhaq's case.