Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Fresh Filings

By Entertainment Law & Finance Staff
February 01, 2025

Superhype Tapes Ltd., a London-based recording and publishing company owned by the band members of Led Zeppelin, have filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in Illinois Northern District Federal Court. The suit, filed by TME Law, pursues claims against unidentified online retailers over the allegedly unauthorized sale of Led Zeppelin products and media. The case is Superhype Tapes Ltd v. The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified On Schedule A, 1:25-cv-00950. Jacobs Engineering Group and CH2M Hill International have been named in a lawsuit in Colorado District Federal Court alleging human trafficking and forced labor in connection with the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The lawsuit was filed by Sparacino PLLC and Olson Grimsley Kawanabe Hinchcliff & Murray on behalf of construction workers alleging that the defendants misrepresented the nature of the work they would be doing, the payment they would receive and the conditions they would face in order to induce them to build the stadiums and infrastructure needed for the event. The suit contends that the plaintiffs were abused and subjected to inhumane working and living conditions, and alleges that the defendants took their passports in order to block their ability to leave. The case is C. v. Jacobs Solutions Inc., 1:25-cv-00274. LaFontaine Ford St. Clair, a Ford dealership, was hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit in Michigan Eastern District Federal Court. The court action, filed by Hertz Schram PC on behalf of Eight Mile Style and Martin Affiliated LLC, arises from the allegedly unauthorized use of Eminem’s musical composition “Lose Yourself” in the defendant’s online advertisements for its car dealerships. The case is Eight Mile Style LLC v. Lafontaine Ford St. Clair Inc., 2:25-cv-10249. Flash Music and Maribel Vega Laguna were hit with a lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment in Puerto Rico District Federal Court. The court action, brought by Becker & Vissepo on behalf of Elvis Crespo Diaz p/k/a Elvis Crespo, seeks an order affirming the plaintiff is the sole creator and owner of certain enumerated sound recordings comprising the Elvis Crespo Music Catalog. The case is Diaz v. Vega Laguna, 3:25-cv-01045. Houston NFL Holdings d/b/a Houston Texans was slapped with a patent infringement lawsuit in Texas Southern District Federal Court. The court action, filed by Rabicoff Law on behalf of TicketMatrix, asserts a patent related to enhanced ticket features. The case is Ticketmatrix LLC v. Houston NFL Holdings LP, 4:25-cv-00313. Universal Music Group, Cash Carti Music and other defendants have been sued in a copyright infringement lawsuit in California Central District Federal Court. The court case, brought by Williams Law Group on behalf of singer/songwriter and producer/engineer Eric Mercer Jr., accuses the defendants of using the plaintiff’s vocals on the song “Kelly K” without compensating the plaintiff causing him to rescind the agreement authorizing the use of his vocals for five percent of the song’s proceeds. The case is Mercer Jr. v. Cash Carti Music LLC, 2:25-cv-00670. PayPal was sued by content creator Xavier Smith in California Northern District Federal Court. The suit, brought by Keller Rohrback LLP, is part of a wave of cases accusing businesses of stealing marketing commissions from YouTubers, Instagram personalities and other parties who direct their audiences to purchase products using affiliate marketing links, which create unique affiliate cookies that allow creators to earn sales commissions. The complaint alleges that when certain company extensions are installed on a purchaser’s browser, the extensions replace affiliate cookies with the companies’ own cookies to divert commissions. The case is Smith v. PayPal Holdings Inc., 5:25-cv-00847. Live Nation Entertainment, Illenium Touring and other defendants have been hit with a wrongful death lawsuit in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County. The court case was filed by HHJ Trial Attorneys on behalf of the estate of an attendee at an Illenium concert at the SoFi Stadium. According to the complaint, the decedent drowned in February 2024 at Rivers Lake, which is located within the Hollywood Park entertainment complex. The complaint contends that the defendants failed to erect barriers around the lake, to provide adequate security and failed to warn the public of dangerous conditions on the premises. The case is Shepard v. Insomniac Holdings, 25TRCV00212. Marcus Theatres and The Marcus Corp. were hit with a patent infringement lawsuit in Texas Eastern District Federal Court. The complaint, filed by Miller Fair Henry and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan on behalf of PLS IV LLC, asserts four patents pertaining to security architecture for the distribution of original release movies. The case is PLS IV LLC v. The Marcus Corp., 2:25-cv-00068. Higher Power Productions, a producer of in live concerts and pay-per-view events, and other defendants were sued in California Superior Court, San Francisco County, for breach of contract and fraud. The lawsuit over an agreement to produce a film was brought by Ari Law on behalf of Even/Odd, a creative studio and production company, which accuses the defendants of making false statements to induce the plaintiff into agreeing to perform services for the production of the film and failing to pay for the services. The case is Even/Odd LLC v. Grant, CGC-25-621674. Model and actress Elysia Wren filed a lawsuit in Florida Circuit Court, Miami-Dade County, alleging defamation. The suit, brought by Daniels, Rodriguez, Berkeley, Daniels & Cruz, contends that a certain individual sent an email to Wren’s employer, the Wilhelmina Modeling Agency, falsely accusing her of harassing others and damaging property due to abuse of alcohol and drugs. The case is Wren v. Jane Doe 1, 2025-001078-CA-01. Those Characters from Cleveland have filed a trademark and copyright infringement lawsuit in Illinois Northern District Federal Court over the alleged sale of counterfeit goods featuring characters from The Cleveland Show. The suit, filed by Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym Ltd., pursues claims against unidentified online retailers. The case is Those Characters from Cleveland, LLC v. The Individuals, Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, Partnerships, and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A Hereto, 1:25-cv-00777. DraftKings, the daily fantasy sports and sports betting site, was named in a false advertising class action in New York Southern District Federal Court. The suit, brought by Loevy & Loevy, accuses the defendant of falsely promising an “all-upside gambling experience” in which new users can wager money from DraftKings without any risk when in fact new users are required to deposit and gamble almost exclusively with their own money. The case is De Leon v. DraftKings Inc., 1:25-cv-00644. Soundtrec, a Boston-based music and live production company, sued promoter and agent Massimo Gallotta Productions d/b/a MGP Live in New York Southern District Federal Court over a contract dispute. The suit, brought by Herbsman Hafer Weber & Frisch, accuses the defendant of failing to properly promote the plaintiff’s Sonic Symphony Tour, a concert tour combining audiovisual elements with live music performances from the video game franchise Sonic the Hedgehog. The complaint seeks a declaration that the plaintiff properly terminated the agency agreement after the defendant booked improper venues, failed to provide ticket reports and committed other malfeasance. The case is Soundtrec LLC v. Massimo Gallotta Productions Ltd., 1:25-cv-00635. The Daily Mirror and other defendants were hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit in Texas Western District Federal Court. The court action was filed by the Casas Law Firm on behalf of John Hargrove, a former killer whale trainer for SeaWorld who was featured in the documentary Blackfish and wrote the memoir Beneath the Surface. The suit contends that the defendants used four images belonging to the plaintiff without authorization in conjunction with an article published in 2022. The case is Hargrove v. Reach PLC, 5:25-cv-00064. DAZ Production, a provider of technology for artists wanting to create 3D figures, filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in Utah District Federal Court. The action, brought by Foley & Lardner, takes aim at Estonia-headquartered Ready Player Me, a company that allows users to create avatars for gaming and apps, over its recent launch of its avatar collectible platform PlayerZero. The suit contends that the defendant infringes the plaintiff’s “Genesis” mark in conjunction with the PlayerZero platform. The case is Daz Production Inc. v. Ready Player Me O, 2:25-cv-00036. Bluresca LLC, a Miami-based management and marketing agency for OnlyFans models, filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit in New York Supreme Court, Kings County. The suit, brought by the Almonte Law Firm, is part of a string of cases accusing OnlyFans models of failing to pay for management and promotional services. The case is Bluresca LLC. v. Mason, 501327/2025. Xtatik, a loan-out company for internationally recognized soca singer Machel Montano, sued Polanta Media Group and other defendants in Florida Circuit Court, Miami-Dade County, for alleged breach of contract and fraudulent inducement. The lawsuit, brought by Baritz & Colman, asserts that the defendants failed to pay a $200,000 booking fee for Montano to appear as a judge in an emerging artist competition and to perform at the Bahamas Junkaroo Carnival in May 2023. The case is Xtatik Ltd v. Polanta Media Group, 2025-000379-CA-01. The Walt Disney Company, Buena Vista Home Entertainment and other defendants were sued for copyright infringement in California Central District Federal Court in a lawsuit filed on behalf of Buck G. Woodall, who accuses Disney of using the plaintiff’s copyrighted and confidential materials to create the 2024 sequel Moana 2. Woodall filed a similar complaint in 2020 over the original film. The new suit is backed by Rumberger Kirk & Caldwell, Christian Attar Law, Sanchez-Medina Gonzalez Quesada Lage Gomez & Machado and the Yang Law Offices. The new case is Woodall v. The Walt Disney Co., 2:25-cv-00273. Rivers Cuomo, lead vocalist and guitarist of the musical group Weezer, filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in Illinois Northern District Federal Court over the alleged sale of counterfeit goods. The suit, brought by TME Law, seeks to enjoin e-commerce operators from selling counterfeit apparel, posters and other merchandise. The case is Cuomo v. The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified On Schedule A, 1:25-cv-00115. Jazziz Publishing and Michael Fagien were hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit in Florida Southern District Federal Court. The lawsuit was filed by Duncan Firm on behalf of Sokolskyfilm, which claims that a photo of jazz musician Chet Baker was used without permission. The case is Sokolskyfilm Inc. v. Jazziz Publishing LLC, 0:25-cv-60024.

— This column was curated using Law.com Radar.

This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin Image

With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.

Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws Image

This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.

Role and Responsibilities of Practice Group Leaders Image

Ideally, the objective of defining the role and responsibilities of Practice Group Leaders should be to establish just enough structure and accountability within their respective practice group to maximize the economic potential of the firm, while institutionalizing the principles of leadership and teamwork.

The Article 8 Opt In Image

The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.

Removing Restrictive Covenants In New York Image

In Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?