Maida’s Belts and Buckles, Inc. v. Lasting Designs, LLC is a case in the Southern District of Texas that involves two different branches of a dynasty founded on craftsmanship. Because both businesses used the family name “Maida,” the court in this decision abbreviated the plaintiff’s name to “Maida’s Belts” and the defendant’s name to “Maida’s…
The Supreme Court’s ground-breaking decision in Cox Communications, Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment delivered a seismic shock to the landscape of copyright enforcement in the United States. The plaintiffs initially sued Cox for vicarious infringement and contributory infringement in the Eastern District of Virginia. There, the plaintiffs alleged that Cox was in violation of the…
Palantir Technologies, Inc. v. Radha Jain, et al. is an ongoing case in the Southern District of New York about stolen trade secrets and overly broad non-compete agreements. Here, Palantir sought a temporary restraining order (TRO) to stop defendants from using the information in question during the pendency of the trial, in addition to requiring…
Baron App, Inc. d/b/a Cameo v. OpenAI, Inc., et al. is a case in the Northern District of California that pits a company supplying bespoke celebrity greetings against an AI company that provides AI-generated celebrity videos. The plaintiff has a registered trademark for CAMEO and uses it in connection with having live actors record videos…
Nwosuocha v. Glover et al. was a copyright infringement case that started in the Southern District of New York and found its final disposition in the Second Circuit. The case centered around an “incurable” defect in Nwosuocha’s claim that he was warned about and subsequently ignored. Emelike Nwosuocha (a/k/a Kid Wes) brought the claim of…
Flycatcher v. Affable Avenue, LLC. was a case in the Southern District of New York in which hallucinated citations from a large language model ended in sanctions for the offending attorney. Affable Avenue, represented by Steven Feldman, was among over a dozen defendants in the suit brought by Flycatcher. After Feldman entered a motion to dismiss,…
Cyril E. Vetter et al. v. Robert Resnik et al. was a case in the Fifth Circuit that examined ownership rights arising from the Copyright Act of 1909 and how they applied to the termination of foreign copyright rights. The work in question was “Double Shot (Of My Baby’s Love)” written by Vetter and Don…
Illinois Tamale Company, Inc. v. LC Trademarks, Inc. et al was a case that originated in the Eastern District of Illinois before being appealed to the Seventh Circuit. Illinois Tamale Company (d/b/a “IlTaco”) brought claims against Little Caesars under the Lanham Act for trademark infringement and false designation of origin, in addition to Illinois state…
Cloobeck v. Antonio R. Villaraigosa, et al. was an attempt to apply the Lanham Act in a political setting rather than a commercial one. Stephen Cloobeck and Antonio Villaraigosa were both running for governor in California (Cloobeck has since dropped out) before Cloobeck sued Villaraigosa for trademark infringement and unfair competition under the Lanham Act.…
In Neil Zlozower v. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc., the storied Hall of Fame brought a motion for judgment on the pleadings in the Northern District of Ohio (that is, their home turf) after the plaintiff brought a claim for copyright infringement. The Hall of Fame countered with a motion…