Fresh Filings

MRC II Distribution and other defendants have been sued in a copyright infringement complaint filed in California Central District Federal Court over the hit Amazon Prime movie G20. The action, brought by Sanders Law Group on behalf of a screenwriter, alleges the defendants copied elements from a screenplay titled Election Night that was published through ScreenCraft’s fellowship contest and registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. According to the complaint, G20 was developed after the screenplay became available on Coverfly.com, where one of the movie’s executive producers allegedly had access through industry connections. The case is Boykin-Patterson v. MRC II Distribution Company L.P., 2:25-cv-08069. … Merch Traffic, a Live Nation subsidiary and the exclusive U.S. merchandising licensee for Madonna’s products, filed a trademark infringement and counterfeiting lawsuit in Illinois Northern District Federal Court against numerous online retailers operating through marketplace platforms including Alibaba, eBay, Etsy and Temu. The complaint, brought by Sullivan & Carter, alleges the defendants, primarily based in China, are part of an organized counterfeiting operation that illegally profits from unauthorized use of Madonna’s registered trademarks on counterfeit merchandise. The action seeks up to $2 million per counterfeit mark. The case is Merch Traffic LLC v. The Partnerships Identified on Schedule A, 1:25-cv-10239. … Microsoft Gaming, members of the rock band Ozomatli and other defendants were hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit in Texas Southern District Federal Court over the alleged unauthorized use of the song “Juana La Cubana.” The action, brought by Barks on behalf of Sabrosura Music and Oliva Records, alleges that Ozomatli recorded and released an unauthorized cover version that garnered over one million streams, and that Microsoft subsequently used the infringing recording in its video game Forza Horizon 5 without permission. The case is Sabrosura Music LLC v. Abers, 4:25-cv-04030. … Damon Boettcher, former long-time executive of DSE Hockey Centers, which is associated with the Dallas Stars ice hockey team, sued Duane Morris and partner Robert M. Castle III in Texas District Court, Tarrant County, for alleged legal malpractice. The suit, brought by Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, alleges that Duane Morris negligently handled the plaintiff’s severance agreement, including a six-week delay in forwarding key documents, resulting in the agreement’s expiration and the loss of over $121,000. Dallas Stars cut ties with Boettcher and two others after an investigation had found earlier this year that they had been deriving illicit profits from participants in youth hockey tournaments and their families. The case is Boettcher v. Castle III, 017-368547-25. … Laika, the animation studio behind the film Coraline, filed a trademark and copyright infringement lawsuit in Illinois Northern District Federal Court against numerous online sellers. The complaint, brought by attorney David Gulbransen, alleges that the defendants sell counterfeit Coraline-themed products. The case is Laika LLC v. Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A, 1:25-cv-10110… Puerto Rican artist Raúl Alejandro Ocasio Ruiz, along with Sony Music Entertainment US Latin and Duars Entertainment, was sued for copyright infringement in California Central District Federal Court. The action, brought by Gipson Hoffman & Pancione on behalf of AOM Music (BM Records), alleges unauthorized sampling of “Playero Works” in four tracks from Ruiz’s 2022 album Saturno. The plaintiff seeks damages of up to $150,000 per infringed work and injunctive relief. The case is AOM Music Inc. v. Ruiz, 2:25-cv-07861. … Live Nation Worldwide and Live Nation Touring have been hit with a $20 million lawsuit in California Central District Federal Court over alleged unfair business practices and tortious interference. The action, brought by the Law Offices of Thomas and Associates on behalf of concert promoter Fifth Degree Tours #2, stems from a July 2024 incident in which the defendants allegedly discriminated against the plaintiff’s concert during a thunderstorm by allowing a rock concert to proceed under similar conditions the following week. According to the complaint, the defendant’s unauthorized show cancellation and alleged spreading of negative reviews severely damaged the plaintiff’s ability to book major venues. The case is Fifth Degree Tours #2 LLC v. Live Nation Worldwide Inc., 2:25-cv-07828. … Freeplay LLC was hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit in California Northern District Federal Court. The suit, brought by Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp on behalf of game developer Homa Games, accuses the defendant of extensively copying level designs, interfaces and progression systems from the plaintiff’s mobile game All in Hole to create the confusingly similar game Hole Puzzle: Collect Master! The case is Homa Games SAS v. Freeplay LLC, 3:25-cv-07005. … Paisley Park Enterprises, the music publishing company founded by the late musician Prince, has been sued in a trademark complaint filed in California Central District Federal Court over rights to the name “Apollonia.” The action, brought by Cislo & Thomas on behalf of actress and singer Patty Kotero, seeks declaratory relief establishing her ownership of the Apollonia mark, which she has used professionally for over 40 years since starring in the 1984 film Purple Rain. According to the complaint, Prince’s estate is attempting to cancel Kotero’s trademark registrations regardless of decades of continuous use and Prince’s own historical consent to her professional use of the name. The case is Kotero v. Paisley Park Enterprises LLC, 2:25-cv-07769. … Netflix and other defendants have been sued in a copyright infringement lawsuit in New York Southern District Federal Court over the alleged unauthorized use of video footage in its documentary Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer. The complaint, filed by Hunton Andrews Kurth on behalf of digital content creator Antoine Amira, alleges that Netflix and co-defendants Story Syndicate and Archer Gray Productions used three segments of Amira’s copyrighted February 2022 interview with Rex Heuermann without permission in the documentary’s third episode. The plaintiff seeks damages of approximately $120,000 for willful infringement after unsuccessful attempts to resolve the matter in April 2025. The case is Amira v. Netflix Inc., 1:25-cv-06836. … Music Access and its president Robert Gonzales were hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit in Texas Northern District Federal Court over alleged unauthorized use of 12 protected songs. The action, brought by Kennedy Law on behalf of independent record label Malaco, accuses the defendants of falsely claiming authorship and making unauthorized recordings of songs including “Boom Boom Boom” and “Down Home Blues” without obtaining licenses. The case is Malaco Inc v. Music Access Inc., 3:25-cv-02217. … Sony Corporation of America subsidiary Orchard Enterprises NY Inc. and other defendants have been sued in a $25 million breach-of-contract complaint filed in New York Supreme Court, New York County. The lawsuit, brought by Greenspoon Marder on behalf of Carlos Suarez and High Society Management, accuses the defendant of breaching a settlement agreement that arises from an underlying lawsuit that centered on Orchard’s unauthorized use and distribution of the plaintiffs’ musical compositions. The suit seeks the $25 million over the defendants’ alleged failure to deliver all third-party clearances, licenses and rights necessary to give effect to the plaintiffs’ ownership of the musical compositions. The case is High Society Management LLC v. Real Hasta LA Muerte LLC. … Artificial intelligence company Stability AI has been hit with a copyright and trademark infringement lawsuit in California Northern District Federal Court over the alleged unauthorized use of more than 12 million photographs to train its Stable Diffusion AI models. The complaint, filed by Weil, Gotshal & Manges on behalf of Getty Images, accuses the defendant of removing copyright management information from Getty’s images, applying modified Getty watermarks to AI-generated content and using the misappropriated content to build a competing business that has generated over 12.5 billion images. The suit seeks statutory damages of up to $150,000 per infringed work. The case is Getty Images (US) Inc. v. Stability AI Ltd., 3:25-cv-06891. … Actress and musical artist Ciara Renee has sued Make Way Broadway, Sisters Clarke Ltd. and other defendants for breach of contract in New York Southern District Federal Court. The suit pertains to the plaintiff’s lead role as Mary Clarke in the musical Gun & Powder at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ. According to the complaint, the defendants were required to negotiate in good faith for the plaintiff to reprise her role in a Broadway production but breached the agreement by refusing to hire Renee based on her purported failure to collaborate or accept creative feedback. The suit was brought by attorney Gabriel Fischbarg. The case is Renee v. Sisters Clarke LLC, 1:25-cv-06714. … Charach Productions and Film Friendly Partners have sued Justin Lee Films, Koenig Pictures and other defendants in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County. The lawsuit, brought by YK Law, alleges Justin Lee misused funds for film projects Cult Status and Hunting Games, failed to deliver completed works and defaulted on a 2025 settlement agreement. The case is Charach Productions USA Inc v. Rister, 25STCV23505. … Theatrical director Cara Reichel and composer Peter Mills filed a declaratory judgment action against author Dr. Elizabeth Cobbs in New York Southern District Federal Court, seeking to establish that their musical The Hello Girls does not infringe on Cobbs’ copyright in her 2017 book about World War I female telephone operators. The lawsuit, brought by Crowell & Moring, comes as the musical plans a potential Broadway run and follows escalating demands from Cobbs for ongoing royalties, merchandise rights and formal credit for all future productions, allegedly despite her initial support of the project without monetary compensation requests. The case is Reichel v. Cobbs, 1:25-cv-06626. … Con Limon Productions has been sued by casting director Andrew Fem for breach of contract in New York Supreme Court, New York County. The suit, brought by Taylor & Cohen, accuses the defendant of violating the New York City Freelance Isn’t Free Act by failing to timely remit $6,000 for casting services in connection with a developmental reading of a musical theater production. The case is Fem v. Con Limon Productions LLC. … UMG Recordings was hit with a trademark infringement lawsuit in Tennessee Middle District Federal Court by B&S Music Properties over the “East Iris Studios” trademark. The complaint, filed by Vlahos Law, alleges that UMG engaged in unfair competition and committed fraud on the USPTO by registering the trademark in February 2021 despite B&S’s continuous use of the name since 1998. According to the suit, UMG unsuccessfully attempted to purchase the trademark in 2018-2019, later acquired B&S’s lapsed domain name in 2020, and now plans a $250,000,000 music studio campus using the disputed mark. The case is B&S Properties Inc. v. UMG Recordings Inc., 3:25-cv-00898. … Sound Success and Sennie “Skip” Martin III were hit with a copyright infringement and breach-of-contract lawsuit in Nevada District Federal Court. The complaint centers on the song “People Get Ready,” the R&B classic written by Curtis Mayfield, originally released by the Impressions in 1965 and covered in a gospel style by the defendants. The court action has been brought by Dickinson Wright on behalf of Alexzandria Morgan, who alleges that the defendants failed to credit her contributions as a backing vocalist on the 2019 recording and failed to acknowledge her when the version won an Emmy in 2023. The case is Morgan v. Martin III, 2:25-cv-01458. … Fox Cable Network Services has sued Grupo Lauman Holding in New York Southern District Federal Court. The suit pertains to failed negotiations for a media deal that would have enabled Fox to expand into the pay-television sports media market in Mexico by purchasing certain assets of the defendant’s subsidiary. The redacted complaint alleges that after negotiations stalled in December 2024 and Fox instead entered a media deal with Caliente TV in June 2025, the defendant made baseless accusations against Fox and threatened to pursue meritless legal claims. The complaint was filed by Ellis George. The case is Fox Cable Network Services LLC v. Grupo Lauman Holding, 1:25-cv-06512. … The National Football League, NFL Alumni Inc. and other defendants were hit with a trademark and trade dress infringement lawsuit in Florida Southern District Federal Court over the alleged misappropriation of iconic NFL-related marks and designs. The suit, brought by Chusid, Katz & Sposato on behalf of artist Victor Maitland’s estate, claims the defendants have wrongfully profited from his original creations, including the Hall of Fame gold jacket, logos and various program marks, which the suit contends he had designed and launched into commerce in the late 1970s while serving as NFL Alumni’s CEO. The case is Lassen v. NFL Properties LLC, 9:25-cv-80981. … iHeart Media has been sued in a breach-of-contract complaint in Nevada District Court, Clark County. The action, filed by Johnson & Knight, accuses iHeart of breaching a January 2025 content-distribution agreement with Da Podcast and Revive Media Group through coordinated market interference, withholding $12 million in production payments and $2 million in royalties, and exploiting the inexperience of Da Podcast's 24-year-old CEO. The case is Revive Media Group LLC v. iHeart Media Inc., A-25-924949-C. … Country music artist Chase Matthew and his company Chase Matthew Music have brought a copyright ownership lawsuit against songwriter Jake Angel and Kobalt Music Services America in Tennessee Middle District Federal Court. The action, filed by Buchalter, seeks a declaration that the plaintiffs own 20% of the musical composition “Darlin’” and alleges that the defendants are wrongfully claiming 100% ownership, which has prevented a synchronization license deal with Jockey brands from moving forward. According to the complaint, Angel previously acknowledged owning only 20% of the work, which also involves three other unnamed songwriters. The case is McQuitty v. Higgins, 3:25-cv-00882.