Disney lands the jump in Evel Knievel trademark suit
On September 23, 2021, a U.S. District Judge for the District of Nevada granted Walt Disney’s motion to dismiss K&K Productions’ claim of trademark infringement under the Lanham Act “without prejudice.” If a case is dismissed without prejudice, then the case may be brought to court once more. K&K owns intellectual property and publicity rights…
Read More
On September 27, 2021, a U.S. District Court Judge for the Eastern District of New York found that Charlotte Hornets basketball player Terry Rozier’s use of a ghost mask was fair use. Fair use is the right to use a copyrighted work under certain conditions without the permission of the copyright owner. Fun World produces…
Read More
On 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 More
Only 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 More
On December 9, 2020, Judge Mark C. Scarsi of the U.S. District Court of California threw out trademark claims brought by a magazine against the producers of Netflix’s hit documentary series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness. Hollywood Weekly Magazine and its founder and publisher claimed that the publication coined the mark “Tiger King” in…
Read More
Seeking Arrangement (Seeking.com), a popular dating service that connects men and women who are looking for an arrangement, filed a lawsuit against a competing dating site—Successful Match (SuccessfulMatch.com). Seeking Arrangement alleges that Successful Match appropriated trademarked phrases that the dating service has used on its website for years. The targeted phrases include “mutually beneficial relationships”…
Read More
On October 27, 2020, Playboy Enterprises filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Fashion Nova, an online retail company, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. According to the complaint, Fashion Nova created and sold a replica of Playboy’s iconic bunny costume “throughout the peak of the Halloween costume season.” In the…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More