After months of shots across the bow, Craneballs Studios (an app and video game developer) has pulled the trigger on a copyright infringement lawsuit for alleged copying of its popular Overkill first-person shooter game. Craneballs accuses Feelingtouch’s Gun & Blood video game of being an Overkill knock-off and further accuses…
Mystique, a shoe and sandal manufacturing company, filed a copyright infringement and unfair competition claim against Ivanka Trump for allegedly copying two sandal designs. Mystique created and registered with the US Copyright Office its ornamental designs affixed to sandals titled “By the Sea – Style 3323” and “Starry Eyed –…
DuckHole, Inc. is the copyright assignee in a treatment for a television series entitled “Pets,” created by Paul J. Andre in 2010. Mr. Andre, however, did the unthinkable: he registered his treatment with the Writers Guild of America. WRITERS, repeat after me: I WILL NOT WASTE MY MONEY REGISTERING MY…
I have the pleasure of speaking – along with an esteemed panel – at Bridgeport Continuing Education’s intellectual property law seminar on September 27, 2012 in Los Angeles. The seminar is titled “Understanding Intellectual Property Law for In-House Counsel and Other Non-IP Lawyers”. Topics will include: * An Overview of…
National Photo Group (“NPG”) owns the copyrights to numerous celebrity photographs that it licenses to websites and magazines. NPG asserts ownership of registered copyrights and pending applications, but only provides a registration number for photographs of Isla Fisher and does not attach the copyright registration certificates to the complaint. Although…
Having received two copyright infringement cease-and-desist letters, ThinkBronze filed a copyright declaratory judgment lawsuit against Wise Unicorn entities, which also includes offensive causes of action for misrepresentation of copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f) and trade libel. ThinkBronze imports from China bronze statues that it sells to customers via…
Ubisoft, the maker of the Assassin’s Creed videogame, is suing John L. Beiswenger for a court ruling that its Assassin’s Creed video game does not infringe Beiswenger’s alleged copyright in the “Link” novel. In April, Beiswenger sued Ubisoft for copyright infringement in Pennsylvania seeking $5 million in damages and tried…
Mavrix Photo is a celebrity photography agency that licenses the pictures to magazines and celebrity gossip websites. Mavrix alleges that it has licensed individual images of celebrities for over $100,000 to major content outlets. Mavrix is accusing the popular men’s website, Guyism.com, of infringing at least 21 copyright registrations for…
Street artist Thierry Guetta (aka “Mr. Brainwash”), featured in the documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop, is not a newcomer to copyright infringement claims relating to photographs of musicians. Almost a year ago, the Court found Guetta infringed photographer Glen E. Friedman’s registered copyright in a photo of musicians Run…
Songwriter Bryan Pringle sued the Black Eyed Peas and others, including David Guetta, for copyright infringement asserting that their “I Gotta Feeling” song copied elements of his “Take a Dive” song, which he copyrighted in 1998. Click here for details of the initial complaint and an audio comparison of the…