'Salt Bae' Slapped With $5 Million Lawsuit Over Alleged Art Copyright

Internet personality "Salt Bae" was sued Monday for $5 million in damages in a New York court for alleged copyright infringement.

The Turkish chef, whose real name is Nusr-et Gökçe, was accused by Brooklyn-based artist William Hicks of using commissioned art on menus, takeout bags, and signs at international locations of Gökçe's restaurant without permission, the New York Post reported.

According to the lawsuit filed in the District Court for the Southern District of New York, Gökçe commissioned Hicks and another artist in September 2017 to create and install a mural of the chef doing his signature salt-sprinkling pose in the Miami location of his Nusr-Et Steakhouse. Gökçe reportedly commissioned additional murals and had them installed at Nusr-Et Steakhouse locations in New York, Dubai and Istanbul. The price for these commissions was not disclosed.

Court documents revealed that in early 2020, Hicks discovered Gökçe and his companies were using the same commissioned art around the world in window displays, digital signs, wipes, takeout bags and on the labels for his line seasonings without the artist's knowledge and consent.

"Defendants were engaging in widespread, unauthorized distribution and use of the original works in, among other places, Nusr-et’s steakhouses and Saltbae Burger restaurants in New York, Dubai and Istanbul," the lawsuit read.

"Defendants also unilaterally decided that they would instead unlawfully adapt, create, and distribute unauthorized derivative versions of the original works … to display in Nusr-et steakhouse locations in at least Abu Dhabi, Ankara, Etiler, Mykonos, and Bodrum Yalikavak Marina."

In response, Hicks allegedly sent a cease and desist letter to Gökçe in April demanding the chef and his companies to stop using the original artwork. But according to the lawsuit, Gökçe’s camp "doubled down on their already widespread infringement, expanding their willful use of the Infringing Materials to locations in Doha, D Maris Bay (Turkey), Boston, Dallas and several additional locations in Istanbul."

This is not the first time Gökçe got embroiled in legal trouble. In 2019, he had to pay $230,000 to four former waiters after he allegedly fired them for asking questions about tips.

Gökçe became popular in 2017 when videos of him sprinkling salt on food in a dramatic fashion garnered millions of views on Instagram.