Elon Musk Can’t Shake Defamation Lawsuit
On December 20, 2021, the California Court of Appeals issued an unpublished opinion that upheld a trial court’s order that Elon Musk’s statements in an email were not protected by California’s anti-SLAPP statute. The California anti-SLAPP statute provides for a motion to strike the lawsuit at its inception if (a) the claims are based upon…
Read MoreAfter a years-long battle between Dr. Seuss Enterprises and ComicMix LLC, the two have finally settled the copyright infringement lawsuit, which was initially filed by the famed author’s estate over Dr. Seuss/Star Trek mashup book entitled “Oh the Places You’ll Boldly Go.” On October 5, 2021, Dr. Suess Enterprises, the group that controls the famous…
Read MoreOn September 15, 2021, model and former “Bachelor” contestant Hannah Ann Sluss (“Sluss”) sued Procter & Gamble Company, Inc. (“P&G”) for copyright infringement, claiming that P&G is still using her image to sell products, even though its license to do so has long since expired. According to Sluss’s complaint, she licensed one of her modeling…
Read MoreOn July 30, 2021, a California appellate court ruled that CBS Corp. did not breach its obligations to share its profits with talent agency, Rebel Entertainment Partners Inc. (“Rebel”), when CBS Corp. voluntarily lowered their profits to increase Judith Sheindlin’s (“Judge Judy”) salary to $47 million. In 1995, Richard Lawrence, a show packager who started…
Read MoreOn July 13, 2021, the Ninth Circuit dismissed a trademark infringement lawsuit that Social Technologies LLC (“Social Tech”) filed against Apple, Inc. (“Apple”). The court held that Social Tech’s trademark was invalid. The history of the case is as follows: In 2016, Social Tech filed an “intent-to-use” trademark application with the United States Patent and…
Read MoreOn July 16, 2021, the AMC Network settled a lengthy lawsuit with “The Walking Dead” creator Frank Darabont, Creative Artist Agency LLC, and two of Darabont’s production companies, for $200 million. Darabont developed “The Walking Dead” and served as executive producer from 2010 to 2011. In 2010, AMC Studios licensed the series for broadcast to…
Read MoreOnly July 8th, 2021, Hard Rock Cafe filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in Florida federal court accusing a South Carolina hemp company. According to the lawsuit, the famous Rock n’ Roll chain accused the hemp company of profiteering off the restaurant and hotel conglomerate’s famous name to sell its CBD creams and edibles. Hard Rock…
Read MoreOn May 6th, 2021, Miami rapper Kid Wes filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York alleging that rapper Childish Gambino stole the chorus from the Miami rapper’s 2016 track “Made In America” for his 2018 hit “This Is America.” In the complaint, Wes alleges that the chorus of the 2018 hit song…
Read MoreOn April 27th, 2021, the Grammy-winning pop singer Lizzo claims about the copyright owner of the hit song “Truth Hurts” once and for all. Three unknown music artists accused Lizzo of refusing to acknowledge their role in creating her song “Truth Hurts.” Among other things, the artists Justin Raisen, Jeremiah Raisen, and Yves Rothman (the…
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