Justice is hoping for justice after alleging Justin Bieber copied their logo

Move over, Justice League, there’s another Justice battle this week.

It appears Justin Bieber was feeling nostalgic for the era where Justice’s “D.A.N.C.E.” was an inescapable earworm (“Do the dance, do the dance, they way you move is a mysteryyyyyyyyy”) because he named his new album Justice, and the font for the album is eerily similar to the French electro-pop duo’s logo, with both logos feature a lowercase “t” that resembles a cross. In fact, that “t” is so quintissential for Justice that it was the sole image on their album art for their self-titled record. Last month, the band’s label Ed Banger Records joked about the resemblance between Justice’s and Justin’s art on Instagram, bringing it to the attention of the duo. But it turns out the design wasn’t a mere coincidence; it was extremely deliberate.

Bieber’s team reportedly reached out to Justice’s management in April 2020 because they wanted to be connected with the designer of Justice’s logo. “We’re trying to track down the designer who did [the logo] for Justice. Was hoping you could help point me in the right direction,” a member of Bieber’s team wrote in an email obtained by Rolling Stone. The designer replied saying “I’m available to discuss about logo design sometime next week,” but Bieber’s team ghosted. Justice co-manager John Scholz told the magazine that Bieber’s team “mentioned it was to work on a Justin Bieber project” and did not give any details on what the project was, nor that the album was actually going to be named Justice. Well, now Justice are hoping to get some justice. Rolling Stone reported on Thursday that the duo sent a cease-and-desist letter to Bieber.

The publication obtained the letter, and noted that it says, “Your use of the Mark is illegal. You have not received permission from Justice to utilize the Mark. Moreover, Bieber’s work is in no way affiliated with, supported by, or sponsored by Justice. Such use of the Mark is not only illegal, but likely to deceive and confuse consumers.” The “Mark” refers to the cross, and Justice actually had their logo trademarked in France in 2008 and in the European Union in 2014. Justice is ready to ignite.