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Artist Sues Sunderland Over Kit Copying Lighthouse Sculpture

4/25/2026

Summary

Story summary

Andrew Small is suing Sunderland AFC over the 2025-26 away kit that uses a geometric Roker Lighthouse pattern he says copies his sculpture.
The sculpture ‘C’, a six-and-a-half-tonne granite slab commissioned in 2008 by Sunderland City Council, frames the lighthouse through a curved aperture reflected on the kit.
Small, who retained copyright, seeks damages or a share of kit sales and faced Sunderland’s denial after his barrister issued a cease-and-desist.

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Story summary

Andrew Small is suing Sunderland AFC over the 2025-26 away kit that uses a geometric Roker Lighthouse pattern he says copies his sculpture.
The sculpture ‘C’, a six-and-a-half-tonne granite slab commissioned in 2008 by Sunderland City Council, frames the lighthouse through a curved aperture reflected on the kit.
Small, who retained copyright, seeks damages or a share of kit sales and faced Sunderland’s denial after his barrister issued a cease-and-desist.