Ninth Circuit Revives Playwright’s IP Suit Against Producers of “Shape of Water”
In a rare victory for screenwriters, on June 22, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the United States District Court for the Central District of California’s dismissal of a copyright infringement suit which alleged that Director Guillermo del Toro plagiarized Paul Zindel’s play, “Let Me Hear You Whisper,” in…
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On May 29, 2020, Judge Paul W. Grimm of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland dismissed a lawsuit that accused the creators behind the popular video game, “Fortnite,” of appropriating the “running man” dance without permission from the former University of Maryland students who came up with the viral trend. In…
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On May 14, 2020, Live Nation failed to convince a federal judge in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee to dismiss a $25 million-dollar lawsuit in which concert organizers claimed that Live Nation stole their idea for a country music festival with an all-female lineup. In a complaint filed in…
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On April 16, 2020, Judge J. Paul Oetken of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, dismissed a musician’s lawsuit against artists Jay-Z and Timbaland for unlawfully using parts of the plaintiff’s soul song, finding fatal flaws in the complaint. In the lawsuit filed on May 18, 2019, musician Ernie…
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On March 10, 2020, John Steinbeck’s heirs filed an appeal to the United States Supreme Court concerning a decades-long battle over creative rights to the author’s literary works. In taking up the fight, the California Society of Entertainment Lawyers (“CSEL”), a non-profit organization of attorneys representing creative professionals in the entertainment industry, also submitted an amicus…
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On April 24, 2020, a leading personal injury law firm in Southern California brought a suit against a rival firm based in Beverly Hills for stealing and misusing its registered “Sweet James” trademark online. In the complaint filed with the United States District Court for the Central District of California, plaintiff Sweet James LLP accused…
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In yet another casualty for creative professionals in 2020, on May 28, 2020, United States District Court Judge John F. Walter of the Central District of California dismissed a filmmaker’s copyright infringement lawsuit against Apple and M. Night Shyamalan in connection with the Apple TV+ series, “Servant.” Notwithstanding overwhelming similarities between the two works at…
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On May 29, 2020, New York State Court Judge, Robert D. Kalish, tossed retired professional baseball star Lenny Dykstra’s defamation suit against former teammate, Ron Darling, finding that an unsavory depiction of Dykstra in Darling’s recent book couldn’t further besmirch Dykstra’s “already tarnished reputation.” In July 2019, Dykstra filed and in September 2019, later amended…
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Bruce Brown, the distinguished filmmaker known for capturing the sport of surfing, is suing Footlocker and Nike for infringing upon trademarks he holds in connection with his seminal surf documentary, “The Endless Summer.” In a complaint filed on March 17, 2020, in the United District Court of the Central District of California, Bruce Brown Films…
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On March 31, 2020 a federal district judge in the Southern District of New York delivered a ruling in favor of Activision Blizzard, holding that automaker AM General cannot sue for trademark infringement for incorporating Humvees into the gameplay of the popular video game, “Call of Duty.” Back in November of 2017, plaintiff AM General…
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