A Montana artist is accusing Anheuser-Busch of using his illustration of a jumping bass to advertise and sell Busch Light brand products without his permission.

Wildlife illustrator Jon Q. Wright created an image of a green bass, jumping out of the water after a fisherman’s lure in 1999 and later registered the copyright to the image. About two decades ago he granted A-B a license to use the artwork on its merchandise.

But that agreement expired, and Wright asked A-B to stop using his work, according to a lawsuit filed with the Eastern District of Missouri this month.

Instead, A-B “made trivial and superficial alterations” to the illustration, removed Wright’s name from the piece and claimed its own copyright of the image on clothing, the suit states.

But the likeness between the positioning of the fish, the fish’s size, shape and coloring, the water spaces around the fish, the placement of the fishing lure, countless hand-drawn details and more point to unlawful copying of Wright’s original illustration, according to the lawsuit.

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“The infringing copy was used by Anheuser-Busch to market, promote and advertise its Busch Light beer, with the specific intent to increase sales of Busch Light, enhance the value and recognition of the Busch Light and develop goodwill among consumers, thereby creating a direct financial benefit to Anheuser-Busch,” the filed documents read.

Wright’s detailed image took “hundreds of hours” to create as the process included catching a trophy-sized subject fish, photographing the fish, posing it, sketching it and painting numerous details, Wright’s suit states.

“(Wright’s) artwork is very valuable, as there are not many artists painting freshwater fish, and even fewer creating works with the type of detail employed by (Wright),” the suit reads.

Wright and his company, JQ Licensing LLC, are suing the brewer for copyright infringement and other copyright-related infractions.

According to the suit, the infringement has caused Wright lost revenue, loss of attribution, reputational harm, market confusion regarding ownership of the artwork and the dilution in value to his copyrights. He suit demands a jury trial.

When reached, Anheuser-Busch did not wish to comment.

Anheuser-Busch is updating its giant Clydesdale mural at its St. Louis brewery. The updated mural will feature the eight-horse hitch and red Budweiser Wagon. The new mural was created by St. Louis artist Phil Jarvis.

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