Fresh Filings

Lewis Thomason and other counsel filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in Tennessee Western District Federal Court on behalf of Global Licensing over its “Deja Vu” mark, used in conjunction with the licensing of entertainment establishments and services. The complaint targets the operators of an entertainment establishment called Deja Vu. The case is Global Licensing Inc. v. Deja Vu, 2:22-cv-02385. … The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued David Roda, former employee of Penn Interactive Ventures, and Andrew Larkin in Pennsylvania Eastern District Federal Court over alleged insider trading. The court action contends that Roda misappropriated confidential information regarding Penn Interactive’s negotiations to acquire sports betting company Score Media and Gaming, then teamed up with Larkin to buy and sell Penn Interactive stock for a profit of over $567,000. The case is Securities and Exchange Commission v. Roda, 2:22-cv-02317. … Netflix was hit with a defamation lawsuit in Florida Southern District Federal Court in relation to Netflix’s The Wasp Network, a 2019 film about five Cuban political prisoners who had been imprisoned by the United States. The court case was filed by Boone & Davis and Hirzel Dreyfuss & Dempsey on behalf of nonprofit organization Brothers to the Rescue and its leader Jose Basulto. The complaint contends that the film falsely portrays Brothers to the Rescue and Basulto as terrorists who engaged in drug trafficking and terrorist activities. Seven of the film’s producers and the writer/director were also sued. The case is Basulto v. Netflix Inc., 1:22-cv-21796. … Netflix and its top executives were also hit with a securities class action in California Northern District Federal Court. The suit, filed by Grant & Eisenhofer, accuses the defendants of failing to disclose a slowdown in the company’s growth, and of downplaying challenges in acquiring and retaining customers. The case is Cleveland Bakers and Teamsters Pension Fund v. Netflix Inc., 3:22-cv-03164. … Williams Mullen filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in North Carolina Eastern District Federal Court on behalf of the performance rights organization Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) and music publishers. The suit claims the plaintiffs have contacted Waterman’s Brewing and other defendants more than 65 times requesting that they cease and desist from playing music the venue has failed to license from BMI. The case is Broadcast Music Inc. v. Waterman’s Inc., 7:22-cv-00087. … Major League Baseball, its 30 teams and sports merchandise retailer Fanatics were hit with an antitrust class action in New York Southern District Federal Court. The suit was brought by Nematzadeh PLLC and other law firms on behalf of Casey’s Distributing and similarly situated retailers who allege that they have been wrongfully prohibited from selling MLB-licensed products on Amazon.com due to anticompetitive agreements between the league and Fanatics. The case is Casey’s Distributing v. The Officer of the Commissioner, doing business as Major League Baseball, 1:22-cv-04832. Similar lawsuits were filed last month against Fanatics and the National Football League. … Squire Patton Boggs filed a trademark lawsuit in California Central District Federal Court on behalf of Super Hi Fi LLC. The complaint names Rcrdclub Corporation doing business as Hifi for using a confusingly similar name in the same industry. The case is Super Hi Fi LLC v. Rcrdclub Corp. dba Hifi, 2:22-cv-03885. … iHeartMedia was hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit in California Central District Federal Court. The lawsuit was filed by One LLP on behalf of BackGrid USA, which contends that the defendant has reproduced online a minimum of 56 copyrighted celebrity photographs without authorization. The case is BackGrid USA Inc. v. iHeartMedia Inc., 2:22-cv-03868. … Paramount Pictures was hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit in California Central District Federal Court relating to the 1986 film Top Gun and its 2022 sequel Top Gun: Maverick. The lawsuit was filed by Toberoff & Associates on behalf of the heirs of Ehud Yonay, the author of the source material for the Tom Cruise-led films. The complaint contends that, after the plaintiffs terminated the copyright grant, Paramount failed to re-acquire the requisite film and ancillary rights to the story prior to the release of the 2022 sequel. The case is Yonay v. Paramount Pictures Corp., 2:22-cv-03846. … Pryor Cashman filed a copyright lawsuit in New York Southern District Federal Court on behalf of Halcyon Television. The suit targets the surviving family members of Larry McMurtry, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel Lonesome Dove and seeks a declaration that a termination of a copyright grant regarding Lonesome Dove is invalid. The case is Halcyon Television LLC v. McMurtry, 1:22-cv-04608. … Warner Music, Think It’s a Game Records and other defendants were hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit in Georgia Northern District Federal Court. The case, brought by attorney JJ Poole on behalf of Produced by SOS and other plaintiffs, centers on a dispute over the rights to songs produced for the albums Still Goin In and Still Goin In — Reloaded by rap artist Rich Homie Quan. The case is Mayton v. Think It’s a Game Records Inc., 1:22-cv-02181. … DLA Piper filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in California Central District Federal Court on behalf of AXM LLC a/k/a Togethxr, a sports-themed media company founded by accomplished women athletes Sue Bird, Chloe Kim, Alex Morgan and Simone Manuel. The complaint targets professional American football league operator XFL Properties over its recently revealed “re-brand” logo, which the plaintiff argues is confusingly similar to the Togethxr logo. The case is AXM LLC v. XFL Properties LLC, 2:22-cv-03731. … Bursor & Fisher filed a consumer class action in California Northern District Federal Court against Supercell over its video games Clash of Clans, Clash Royale and Brawl Stars. The complaint contends that Supercell deceptively markets in-game items and currency to minors who cannot easily discern contractual means to rescind purchases. The case is T.T. v. Supercell Inc., 4:22-cv-03196. … Fox Rothschild filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in California Central District Federal Court on behalf of two original members of the crossover thrash band Cryptic Slaughter. The suit, brought on behalf of Robert Nicholson and William Treadway, accuses bandmates Les Evans and Scott Peterson of booking performances under the “Cryptic Slaughter” name without the plaintiffs’ approval. The suit alleges claims for trademark infringement, breach of partnership agreement, unjust enrichment, and unfair competition. The case is Cryptic Slaughter v. Evans, 2:22-cv-03711. … Univision Communications was slapped with a copyright infringement lawsuit in New York Southern District Federal Court. The lawsuit was filed by Rath, Young & Pignatelli on behalf of Minden Pictures, which accuses Univision of reproducing copyrighted pictures without permission. The case is Minden Pictures Inc. v. Univision Communications Inc., 7:22-cv-04381. … Patreon, a monetization platform for artists and creators, was hit with a class action lawsuit in California Northern District Federal Court. The suit, for claims under the Video Privacy Protection Act, accuses Patreon of disclosing digital subscribers’ identities and video-viewing preferences to Facebook. The lawsuit was filed by Girard Sharp LLP. The case is Stark v. Patreon Inc., 3:22-cv-03131. … Merchant & Gould filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in Tennessee Middle District Federal Court on behalf of Broadcast Music Inc., Curb Records Inc. and other plaintiffs. The suit, for the unauthorized public performance of songs owned by the plaintiffs, takes aim at Lewis & Clarke’s Restaurant. The case is Broadcast Music Inc. v. Lewis & Clarke’s LLC, 1:22-cv-00017. … Roku Inc., maker of smart TVs and streaming players, sued consumer electronics manufacturer and distributor Curtis International Ltd. in California Northern District Federal Court for alleged breach of contract. The suit, filed by Litigation Law Group and The Webb Law Firm, contends that Curtis failed to pay $1,177,907 for Roku streaming device units in accordance with an executed bundling agreement. The case is Roku Inc. v. Curtis International Ltd., 5:22-cv-03040.