KC Green Settles With AI Startup Artisan Over "This Is Fine" Meme Ad Campaign

KC Green, the cartoonist behind the widely circulated "This is fine" meme, has reached a settlement with AI startup Artisan after the company used a version of his iconic illustration in a transit advertising campaign without his authorization.

The dispute centered on bus and subway ads in which Artisan's marketing depicted Green's recognizable dog character sitting amid flames — a direct visual reference to his original work — but with the caption replaced to read "My pipeline is on fire." The ads urged viewers to "Hire Ava the AI BDR," promoting the company's AI sales assistant.

Green went public with his objections earlier in May, posting on social media that his art had been "stolen like AI steals" and calling on followers to vandalize any ads they encountered. He also expressed frustration at being forced to "try my hand at the American court system" rather than devoting that time to his comics, he told reporters.

Artisan, for its part, said it has "a lot of respect for Green and his work," according to a statement from the company.

The resolution came quickly once formal discussions began. Artisan founder and CEO Jaspar Carmichael-Jack confirmed earlier this week that the two parties had come to terms. Green subsequently confirmed that they had "reached a settlement pretty quick," with the ads in New York and San Francisco being taken down in exchange for Green removing his original public post criticizing the company.

The terms of the financial settlement, if any, were not disclosed.

The episode highlights the legal and reputational risks AI-adjacent companies face when their marketing borrows from recognizable creative works. Artisan's campaign leaned on the cultural weight of Green's meme — one of the most reproduced images on the internet — to make a product pitch, a strategy that drew immediate backlash from both the creator and his audience.

Green's meme, which originated in his webcomic "Gunshow," has been reprinted, remixed, and referenced thousands of times since its creation, typically without compensation to him — a dynamic he invoked directly in his initial criticism of Artisan's ads.

With the settlement now in place and the ads removed, the matter appears resolved, though it arrives amid broader scrutiny of how companies in the AI sector handle intellectual property belonging to artists and other creators.