Pepsi Finally Prevails in the 2016 Copyright Lawsuit Over Superbowl 50 Ad “The Joy of Dance”
On May 21st, 2021, a panel of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that PepsiCo (“Pepsi”) did not steal an advertising firm’s idea for a Super Bowl ad that aired in 2016. During Superbowl 50, Pepsi aired an ad entitled “The Joy of Dance,” which featured singer Janelle Monae…
Read More
On May 25th, 2021, Chief U.S. Judge Timothy C. Batten Sr. of the Northern District of Georgia tossed a copyright infringement suit against Netflix and the creators of its hit television show “Outer Banks.” “Outer Banks” is a mystery adventure series where a group of teenage friends searches for treasure after the disappearance of the…
Read More
On June 15th, 2021, a federal magistrate judge in the Northern District of California dismissed Ice Cube’s lawsuit against investment app “Robinhood.” O’Shea Jackson Sr., known professionally as “Ice Cube,” filed a lawsuit against Robinhood in March 2021 after Robinhood mentioned the rapper in a newsletter. In the newsletter, Robinhood used an image from the…
Read More
In a motion filed on June 9th, 2021, MyChannel asked the Court in California to require Kanye West to sit down for an in-person deposition after Mr. West “insulted and abused” the company’s attorney in a video deposition that only lasted 15 minutes before West stormed out. MyChannel also urged the judge to punish the…
Read More
On May 25th, 2021, U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal of the Southern District of Florida held that Alan Dershowitz’s $300 million defamation suit against CNN could proceed. Dershowitz, a famous lawyer known for helping Trump and other far-right politicians, filed the $300 million defamation suit against CNN on September 15th, 2020. The complaint concerned CNN’s…
Read More
On February 25th, 2021, Artist and Chicano-rights activist Salvador Torres filed a lawsuit against San Diego Unified School District and Balfour Beatty Construction. The suit arises from the destruction of a mural Torres painted for the school district back in 1988. According to the complaint, the San Diego School District and Balfour Beatty’s demolition of…
Read More
On April 20th, 2021, a California Appellate Court in the Second District affirmed summary judgment in favor of the producers of the hit show “American Idol.” Ruling against the plaintiff and former American Idol contestant, Michael Simeon Smith (“Smith”), the Appellate Court affirmed the lower court’s decision, holding that the language of the American Idol…
Read More
On March 31st, 2021, U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams denied a motion to dismiss a copyright infringement lawsuit against singer-songwriter sensation Ed Sheeran over his hit song “Thinking Out Loud.” Structured Asset Sales, who owns the recording of “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye, filed the suit on June 8th, 2020, alleging (again) that…
Read More
On February 26th, 2021, a California federal judge decided that the lawsuit over a “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” remake will not be sent back to state court after concluding that the suit contains copyright violations only a federal court can decide. Filed on December 18th, 2020, the trust of Truman Capote, author of the 1958 novella…
Read More
HD Media Company, a West Virginia newspaper company, filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against Google and Facebook on Friday, January 29, 2021, as a result of the decline in the company’s ability to effectively monetize its content. The complaint charges the two tech giants with monopolizing the digital advertising market and decimating local newspapers nationwide…
Read More