How Artist Collective MSCHF Plays With The Law

By Laura Michiko Kaiser.

MSCHF (pronounced “mischief”) is a startup creative collective based in Brooklyn that produces artworks and designs in various formats including: social media channels, apps, browser plugins, and physical products. The collective, founded and led by Gabriel Whaley, is made up of artists, designers, and product developers whose goal is to “produce social commentary,”^[1] push boundaries, make fun of certain industries, and decidedly not to make a profit.^[2] MSCHF does not advertise on Instagram or Twitter, but rather notifies interested individuals about its “drops” (i.e. releases) via the MSCHF app.^[3] MSCHFs’ works can be regarded as viral pranks or marketing campaigns—some of which have been (or could be) challenged on legal grounds. However, “running away with stuff” is what MSCHF does, according to Whaley.^[4]

The collective’s first product, “The Persistence of Chaos,” was released in May 2019—a 2008 Windows laptop that ran six pieces of malware and was auctioned for over $1 million.^[5] Another popular release was “Puff the Squeaky Chicken,” a rubber chicken that functions as a bong and squeaks when smoked. Later, MSCHF created a shell restaurant called “The Blue Donkey” that allowed individuals to order food through Grubhub/Seamless with their corporate perk discount cards in order to make a statement in opposition to big corporations––it was shut down. Instead of delivering food, the money was donated to a political candidate of the purchaser’s choice that may support anti-corporate policies.^[6] A full list of MSCHFs’ drops, minus the “restricted” ones,^[7] is available on their website. While there is a wide range of legal issues that could apply to the collective’s activities, the focus of this article are two projects that implicate intellectual property law.

“Severed Spots”