The estate of Christopher Wallace, better known as The Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie Smalls, reigned supreme last week in the Southern District of New York after U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan dismissed a copyright suit...more
On January 17, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. (“Twentieth Century”) argued that a copyright infringement claim relating to the hit novel and film, Gone Girl, should be thrown out. ...more
Andre Romelle Young, a.k.a Dr. Dre, was awarded partial summary judgement after a Kentucky federal judge found the hip-hop mogul and NWA member not liable for copyright infringement of plaintiff’s sound recording. ...more
Demi Lovato, Idina Menzel, and Disney are amongst the defendants who were sued over the hit song, “Let It Go,” featured in the popular 2013 Disney film, Frozen....more
11/30/2017
/ Appeals ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Copyright Litigation ,
Disney ,
Film Industry ,
Injunctions ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Movies ,
Music ,
Music Industry ,
Restitution
Jay-Z does not want to be in the spotlight- at least not the spotlight of a New York federal judge. This past April, the hip-hop tycoon and Roc Nation, Jay-Z’s entertainment company, were sued by Iconix Brand Group, Inc....more
11/10/2017
/ Breach of Contract ,
Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
Implied Covenants ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Jay Z ,
Merchandising Rights ,
MLB ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Pending Litigation ,
Rule 8 ,
Trademark Licenses ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
Unfair Competition ,
Unjust Enrichment
Can three stripes be protected as intellectual property? That question is now before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”). Adidas AG (“Adidas”), the German sportswear giant, instantly recognizable for its...more
10/30/2017
/ Adidas ,
Dilution ,
Fashion Branding ,
Fashion Design ,
Fashion Industry ,
Goods or Services ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Lanham Act ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks
Louis Vuitton is no stranger to the court. For years, the luxury fashion label, headed by creative director, Nicolas Ghesquière, has battled high-profile cases over parody bags. Those cases have involved dog toys, Super Bowl...more
10/17/2017
/ Dilution ,
Fashion Design ,
Fashion Industry ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Louis Vuitton ,
Parody ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
SCOTUS ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks
Same song, different lawsuit. Music producer Mark Ronson is battling another lawsuit over his hit single, “Uptown Funk,” this time, accusing him of using elements of Zapp & Roger’s (“Zapp”) 1980 funk track, “More Bounce to...more
On June 15th, Sugarfina Inc. (“Sugarfina”), a gourmet candy boutique, sued one of its competitors, Sweet Pete’s LLC (“Sweet Pete’s”), accusing Sweet Pete’s of trade dress, copyright, trademark, and patent infringement, as...more
A New York jury found ex-publicist Marc Thibodeau liable for breach of contract and tortious interference for a Broadway production called Rebecca, which was supposed to premiere on Broadway. The jury did not find Thibodeau...more
Sylvester Stallone filed suit against Warner Bros. on April 13th, claiming the studio has fraudulently concealed his share of revenue from the 1993 sci-fi action film, “Demolition Man.” The film starred Stallone as a Los...more
The accidental push of a “send” button has Google zealously fighting to protect its exclusive driverless car technology. On February 23, 2017, Google’s self-driving car unit, Waymo LLC (“Waymo”), filed a lawsuit in the...more
BuzzFeed, the popular independent digital media company, was hit with an $11 million defamation suit in January 2016 by journalist Michael Leidig and Central European News (“CEN”).
Leidig and CEN are demanding more than...more
2/22/2017
/ BuzzFeed ,
Damages ,
Defamation ,
Digital Media ,
Discovery ,
False Accusations ,
Libel ,
Motion to Compel ,
News Stories ,
Online Platforms ,
Punitive Damages ,
Summary Judgment ,
UK ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
Is Amazon’s Echo device the crucial key to cracking a murder mystery? Prosecutors in Bentonville, Ark. hope that the smart speaker technology could at least provide some additional clues into the Benton County murder. The...more
A proposal was released December 8, 2016 by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and committee member John Conyers (D-Mich.) targeted towards modernizing the U.S. Copyright system and granting more...more
A verdict was announced November 4, in Nicole P. Eramo v. Rolling Stone, LLC, et al., Civil Action No. 3:15-CV-00023, striking a legal and financial blow for the publication and its journalist, Sabrina Rubin Erdely. A...more
Rolling Stone is not the first media outlet to defend itself in a multi-million dollar trial this year. Gawker Media was recently hit with a $140 million judgment resulting from a suit by Terry Bollea (a.k.a. Hulk Hogan) for...more