George Santos v. James C. Kimmel et al was a case in the Southern District of New York that pitted a cultural pariah against a popular late-night host. At issue was Jimmy Kimmel tricking Santos into making ridiculous videos Santos posted on the website “Cameo,” which Kimmel then posted on his show. Former Congressman George…
In Thumbtack v. Liaison, plaintiff sued for copyright infringement and trade dress infringement for allegedly copying its website. The Northern District of California granted in part the motion to dismiss, because many of the plaintiff’s claims were too vague to address. The court pointed to things in Thumbtack’s exhibits, like circling part of an exhibit without…
Richardson vs. Kharbouch, brought in the Northern District of Illinois, was an infringement case that illustrated the dangers of doing copyright work on a shoestring. The plaintiff, Eddie Lee Richardson, also known as Hotwire the Producer, sued Karim Kharbouch, also known as French Montana. According to plaintiff/Richardson/Hotwire, he came up with a song when he was just…
The Larson v. Perry saga essentially ended with the judge’s denying summary judgment to both sides; essentially, “a pox on both your houses.” The background of this case was famously retold in The New York Times Magazine’s “Who is the Bad Art Friend?” I also wrote about it in “Bad Friends, Inspirations, and Betrayals” in…
Lane Coder Photography v. Hearst Corporation is a copyright case from the Southern District of New York …which lost all its steam shortly after it began. The case was brought by a photographer who was hired to take real estate pictures of the Connecticut home of Paul Simon and Edie Brickell. The purpose was to…
In Nealy v. Warner Chappel Music Inc., a twice-incarcerated plaintiff sued his former manager for licensing his music without authorization — all while the inmate had been serving his first sentence. Argued before the 11th Circuit, this case highlights a circuit split. The sole issue was whether the plaintiff could bring a lawsuit for copyright…
Forum shopping is the concept that some plaintiffs will skip their local court in favor of another jurisdiction that has a track record of ruling favorably in similar cases. In Leong v. Agence France-Presse et al., a plaintiff based in Portugal found reason to bring his suit in New York even though there were perfectly…
It’s 2022, but IP litigants can still learn from the spirit of that groundbreaking Supreme Court case that gave us the Miranda rights. Surprisingly, anything you say to the USPTO can and will be used against you in a copyright infringement case — even if it is apparently unrelated to your trademark application. Brought before the…
The copyright bar got some attention at the Supreme Court recently with the decision in Unicolors v. Hennis & Mauritz LLP (H&M). Originating from the Central District of California, this decision ended up being a victory for pro se applicants — with a caveat. Unicolors filed a copyright infringement action against H&M for using Unicolors’…
In Cat and Dogma v. Target Corporation, the Western District of Texas weighed claims of copyright infringement. At issue was a design for which Cat and Dogma (“Dogma”) had secured a copyright. The design consisted of the words, “I love you,” in a font that was script and fanciful. Dogma alleged that Target, in making…