Los Angeles, CA – Yolanda Buggs accused Dreamworks’ animated movie “Flushed Away” of infringing her copyrighted screen play “Critter Island.” Details blogged here. On summary judgment, the Court applied only the “extrinsic test,” an objective comparison of specific expressive elements, because the “intrinsic test” is within the province of the…
Los Angeles, CA – In yet another case that should have settled quickly (see here), Defendant Upper Playground – who admitted to unabashedly copying the illustrations from Plaintiff’s book – instead attempted to challenge the validity of the copyright registrations. Randy Stratton authored and illustrated the book “Build This Bong:…
Los Angeles, CA – San Antonio Winery filed a trademark and trade dress declaratory judgment action against Banfi Products. San Antonio’s Stella Rosa Imperiale Brachetto d’Acqui wine is made from Brachetto grapes that are sourced from the D.O.C.G. region of Brachetto d’Acqui. San Antonio has registered its Stella Rosa design…
Los Angeles, CA – Writers Jonas Larsen and Anthony Ross are suing Lisa Ann Walter and NBC Universal over the “Dance Your Ass Off” television show. Plaintiffs claim their agents introduced them to Walter, who was the third lead in the movie “Shall We Dance,” to develop a reality television…
Los Angeles, CA – Mavrix is a celebrity photography agency that licenses its photos to newspapers, television programs and magazines. Associated Newspapers Limited publishes the Daily Mail print newspaper and an online version at www.dailymail.co.uk. Mavrix alleges that it offered pictures of actress Kate Hudson by the pool in a…
Los Angeles, CA – Fox is the owner of all copyrights in its “Sons of Anarchy” television show airing on FX. The dramatic television series follows a notorious outlaw motorcycle club battling outside threats to protect its livelihood “while ensuring that their simple, sheltered town of Charming, California remains exactly…
Los Angeles, CA – Givenchy, the luxury merchandise manufacturer, seems to be jumping on the trade dress bandwagon (see here and here) to prevent copying of its purse design. Instead of protecting its purse design with a design patent, Givenchy claims that its Nightingale Trade Dress “includes without limitation a…
Facebook, if you’ve been living on a deserted island, is eponymous with online social networking. Lamebook is a parody website recently created by Jonathan Standefer and Matthew Genitempo, two graphic designers from Austin, Texas. Lamebook highlights “the funny, absurd, and often ‘lame’ content that gets posted on the Facebook website”…
David Guetta, the Black Eyed Peas, individual members of the band, their publishers and record companies were sued for copyright infringement, claiming that the band’s “I Gotta Feeling” hit-song was based on Bryan Pringle’s “Take a Dive” song. Pringle alleges that he wrote “Take a Dive” in 1998, which song…
Plaintiff Figure Eight Holdings acquired by assignment the copyright in the “treacherous” design depicted below (left). Plaintiff alleges that defendants had access to the design and that defendant New Era Cap has sold caps bearing a substantially similar design to retailers, including defendant Hat World. “Defendants have been demanded to…