Fresh Filings

Paramount Global, Paramount Pictures, and other defendants have been sued in New York Southern District Federal Court by a screenwriter who claims he co-wrote key scenes in the film Top Gun: Maverick but was not given proper credit or compensation. The lawsuit, brought by Toberoff & Associates on behalf of Shaun Gray, seeks a legal declaration recognizing his joint authorship and ownership of the screenplay and film. Alternatively, the plaintiff argues that the defendant used his work without permission and infringed on his copyrights. The case is Gray v. Paramount Global, 1:25-cv-03484. … Spike Cable Networks, operating as Viacom’s Paramount Network, filed a federal trademark infringement lawsuit in Florida Southern District Federal Court targeting various e-commerce operators for allegedly selling counterfeit merchandise associated with the hit TV series Yellowstone. The action, brought by Stephen M. Gaffigan P.A., accuses the defendants of selling unauthorized clothing and merchandise. The case is Spike Cable Networks Inc. v. The Individuals, Business Entities, and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule “A,” 1:25-cv-21916 … The estate of Joseph Shuster, the pioneering comic book artist best known for co-creating Superman with Jerry Siegel, has sued DC Comics and Warner Bros. Discovery for alleged copyright infringement in New York Supreme Court, New York County. The court action, brought by Toberoff & Associates, claims unauthorized use of the Superman character in multiple territories per copyrights which purportedly automatically reverted to the estate in the UK, Ireland, Australia and Canada. The lawsuit asserts that the defendants have continued exploiting Superman without authorization via various films, TV shows and video games. The suit seeks injunctive relief and damages, particularly targeting a new Superman movie scheduled for release in July 2025. The case is Peary v. DC Comics Inc. … Banana Studios Entertainment was hit with a trademark infringement lawsuit in New York Southern District Federal Court over its video game The Floor Is LAVA. The lawsuit was brought by Berman Rosenbach and the Law Firm of Brian Roffe on behalf of Pyrovision, which claims ownership of the original Roblox game The Floor Is LAVA! According to the complaint, which seeks injunctive relief and monetary damages, the defendant created a similar game without authorization despite Pyrovision’s established trademark rights through brand collaborations and official Roblox licensed toys. The case is Pyrovision LLC v. Banana Studios Entertainment Ltd., 7:25-cv-03433. … Tyler Perry, Tyler Perry Studios, and several major media companies have been sued in a $70 million complaint in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, over the allegedly unauthorized use of professional singer, actor and songwriter Marva King’s image and likeness in the film Diary of a Mad Black Woman. The suit was brought on behalf of King by attorneys Rodrick J. Lindblom and Robert Parker Jr. The complaint alleges the defendants filmed and distributed the plaintiff’s stage performance without authorization, causing irreparable damage to her professional reputation and career prospects, willfully destroyed evidence and created fraudulent documents. The case is King v. Tyler Perry Studios LLC, 25STCP01501. … Blank Rome filed a trademark infringement and right of publicity lawsuit on behalf of rapper 50 Cent in California Central District Federal Court. The suit takes aim at Ryan Kavanaugh and GenTV for allegedly falsely marketing their upcoming film Skill House as being produced by 50 Cent (real name Curtis Jackson) despite Jackson’s lack of involvement with the project. The suit, also brought on behalf of co-plaintiff NYC Vibe, seeks to enjoin the defendants from releasing the film in July and using 50 Cent’s name, image, voice and trademarks to advertise the movie. The case is Jackson III v. Kavanaugh, 2:25-cv-03623. … Grand Hustle Records has been sued for copyright infringement in California Central District Federal Court. The lawsuit, brought by Salazar Evans LLP on behalf of musician and producer Anthony Wheaton (a/k/a Sir Jinx), alleges that the defendant used the plaintiff’s musical composition “Dope” without authorization. The case is Wheaton v. Grand Hustle Records LLC, 2:25-cv-03612. … Golden Boy Promotions LLC was hit with a breach-of-contract lawsuit in New York Supreme Court, New York County. The lawsuit, brought by Dines and English LLC on behalf of professional boxer Devin Haney and Devin Haney Productions Inc., arises from Golden Boy-promoted fighter Ryan Garcia’s alleged failure of a drug test following a pay per view boxing match with Haney. The court action seeks 47% of Golden Boy’s profit from the match pursuant to a consent order with the New York State Athletic Commission. The case is Haney v. Golden Boy Promotions LLC. … Broadway Licensing Global (BLG), a theatrical licensing company representing major productions including Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, was named in a copyright infringement lawsuit from Subplot Studio in California Central District Federal Court. The suit, filed by Legal GP, alleges BLG continues to use Subplot’s intellectual property covering 49 registered copyrights without authorization following the April 1 termination of their 2018 service agreement. Subplot seeks statutory damages up to $150,000 per infringement, along with injunctive relief and punitive damages. The case is Subplot Studio LLC v. Broadway Licensing Global, 2:25-cv-03586. … Mike Graci Music and eight individual musicians have been sued for trademark infringement in a lawsuit by Chicago Music in Florida Southern District Federal Court. The suit, filed by Buchalter, alleges the defendants, who perform as a tribute band, have been using identical or near-identical variations of the legendary rock band Chicago’s stylized trademarks without authorization since October 2024, violating a 2017 settlement agreement, and misleading the ticket-buying public about the defendants' connection to the original band. Chicago Music seeks injunctive relief, monetary damages and attorney fees for trademark infringement, unfair competition and trademark dilution claims. The case is Chicago Music Inc. v. Mike Graci Music LLC, 0:25-cv-60787. … Disney, Hulu and other defendants were named in a wrongful death lawsuit in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County. The complaint was filed by Kelley | Uustal on behalf of the estate of an individual who allegedly appeared in the defendants’ 2021 documentary about the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. The suit contends that even though military personnel warned the defendants about safety concerns regarding the identities of individuals who appeared in the film, the defendants failed to take appropriate measures to protect their identities, leading to the decedent’s death. The case is Pendergast v. Disney Platform Distribution Inc. … Esports and media company FaZe Holdings and affiliated company Gamesquare Holdings have been sued for breach of contract in New York Southern District Federal Court over alleged mishandling of public warrants registration. The action, brought by Day Pitney on behalf of investment firm Alta Partners, claims the defendants deliberately delayed the registration of warrant shares, preventing Alta from exercising more than one million warrants when the stock traded above the strike price. The case is Alta Partners LLC v. Faze Holdings Inc., 1:25-cv-03367. … InsurePlicity was hit with a breach-of-contract lawsuit in Indiana Superior Court, Marion County. The complaint, filed by Hoover Hull Turner on behalf of the Indianapolis Colts, seeks to recover approximately $332,000 in allegedly unpaid sponsorship fees. The case is Indianapolis Colts Inc. v. Insureplicity LLC, 49D13-2504-PL-019228. … RN’D Distribution and DistroKid were hit with a trademark infringement lawsuit in New York Southern District Federal Court. The suit, brought by Brown & Rosen on behalf of former 1990s R&B group Hi-Five member Treston Irby, accuses the defendants of the unauthorized re-release of Hi-Five’s album The Return in breach of a settlement agreement. The case is Irby v. RN'D Distribution LLC, 1:25-cv-03355. … Roblox, the online game platform, and communications platform Discord were named in a product liability lawsuit in California Superior Court, San Francisco County. The suit was brought by Girard Sharp and Anapol Weiss on behalf of a “Jane Doe” plaintiff who was allegedly groomed and blackmailed into sending explicit videos and images of herself through Discord to an adult who met the plaintiff through Roblox. According to the complaint, the defendants’ platforms lack adequate safety measures for protecting minors from grooming and other sexual exploitation. The case is Doe v. Roblox Corp., CGC-25-624596. … Crumbl, a cookie company valued at up to $2 billion with over 1,000 stores nationwide, was sued for copyright infringement in Utah District Federal Court by more than a dozen Warner Music Group subsidiaries, including Atlantic Records, Warner Records and Bad Boy Records. The suit, filed by Sidley Austin and Workman Nydegger, alleges Crumbl infringed at least 159 copyrighted sound recordings by artists who include Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Bruno Mars through unauthorized uses in promotional videos on TikTok and Instagram. Despite receiving a cease-and-desist letter in 2023, Crumbl allegedly continued posting infringing content while labeling it as “original audio” to circumvent platform restrictions. The case is Warner Records Inc. v. Crumbl LLC, 2:25-cv-00316. … StubHub was sued by Spotlight Ticket Management for malicious prosecution and abuse of process in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County. The suit, brought by Hunton Andrews Kurth, pertains to a partnership through which Spotlight directed corporate customers to StubHub in exchange for commissions. The suit contends that after Spotlight sued StubHub for underpaying commissions, StubHub wrongfully prolonged the litigation through dilatory tactics, such as filing a frivolous cross-complaint that StubHub dismissed the night before a pre-trial conference. The suit further states that after a year-long trial postponement, a jury awarded $16.3 million in favor of Spotlight. The case is Spotlight Ticket Management Inc v. StubHub Inc. … XTS Two f/k/a XTP One was sued in California Central District Federal Court in an action brought by Raskin Gorham Anderson Law on behalf of Brian Crist. The complaint stems from a $1.5 million bridge loan made by the plaintiff to a non-party related to the motion picture Not Without Hope followed by XTP’s subsequent loan. The lawsuit argues that while XTP recorded its copyright mortgage first and planned an April foreclosure sale, Crist claims priority under the Copyright Act, asserting XTP had prior notice of his security interest through documented communications before making its loan. The case is Crist v. XTS Two LLC, 2:25-cv-03086.