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  • Ed Sheeran sued for ripping off Marvin Gaye’s classic ‘Let’s Get It On’

    British pop superstar Ed Sheeran has been accused of plagiarizing Marvin Gaye's 1973 hit song Let's Get It On in his 2014 hit song Thinking Out Loud, but has denied the allegations in court arguing that similarities between the songs involve basic musical “building blocks” that are not protected by copyright.
    The plaintiffs are the heirs of Marvin Gaye's songwriting partner Ed Townsend and incl

  • Nexon sues creators of “Dark and Darker” game over copyright infringement

    Japanese-South Korean video game publisher Nexon has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against a gaming studio and creators, accusing them of stealing trade secrets.
    The defendants in the lawsuit are Ironmace Studios, the developers behind the multiplayer looter Dark and Darker, Ironmace’s founder Terence Seungha Park, and Dark and Darker developer Ju-Hyun Choi.
    The two Korean companies

  • Rip-off or not: Jack Daniel's Vs Bad Spaniels – a case involving whiskey and a dog toy

    Renowned Tennessee whiskey firm Jack Daniel's is attempting to prohibit the production and distribution of a chewy dog toy called Bad Spaniels, which is decorated in the style of one of its bottles.
    The toy features a spaniel and a play on 40% alcohol by volume: "43% poo by volume, 100% smelly."
    The bottle is part of the Silly Squeakers series of dog toys, which was created by VIP Products,

  • Court dismisses lawsuit filed against artist Julie Torres for using the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s photo

    An Atlanta federal judge dismissed a copyright infringement claim brought against Georgia artist Julie Torres for using a picture of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, on the grounds that the photography agency Creative Photographers Inc. lacked legal grounds to bring the lawsuit.
    In November 2021, the agency filed a lawsuit against Torres for not seeking prior permission to use the late U.S

  • Japan court orders JPY 500 million in damages over "fast movie" uploads that earned just JPY 7 million for the infringer

    With an aim to deter unauthorized use of copyright-protected work for personal benefits, the Tokyo District Court ordered a man and woman in their 20s to pay JPY 500 million (USD3.6 million) in damages for uploading minutes-long, edited versions of their films - known as "fast movies" on YouTube - without permission.
    The duo edited and published ‘fast movies’ for 54 works, including "Shin Godz

  • Photographer sues media outlet Gannett for copyright infringement over the use of photo she shot

    US-based photographer Stephanie Campbell has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Gannett Media Corp. and more than 220 Gannett news outlets for allegedly using a photo she shot without permission.
    Campbell claims she owns the right to a photo she took of former National Football League coach Katie Sowers, which Gannett obtained through a screenshot to publish to their readers and sub

  • Greek clothing brand accuses Decjuba of copying dress designs

    Greek clothing brand Devotion Twins has accused retailer Decjuba of copying their dress designs in its latest summer collection.
    Devotion Twins claims Decjuba, which operates 140 stores in Australia and New Zealand, ripped off its popular trademark-registered Ella dress design that had become internationally recognized and worn by actors such as Catherine Zeta-Jones and socialite Kris Jenner.

  • Disney sued by musician Daniel Grigson over a song from 'Frozen II' soundtrack

    The song Some Things Never Change from the Frozen II animated movie is the subject of a copyright infringement lawsuit against The Walt Disney Co. and songwriters Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez.
    Musician Daniel Grigson accused the songwriters of stealing key melodic elements, chord progressions, and even portions of the words from his song That Girl which he wrote almost two decades ag

  • South Indian blockbuster Kantara accused of ripping off music band Thaikkudam Bridge’s song

    Hit Indian movie Kantara has been accused of plagiarism by popular music band Thaikkudam Bridge, which has alleged that the song Varaha Roopam from the film is a copy of its song Navarasam with its identical melody and chords.
    The band took to social media to express their frustration.
    It shared the album cover of their music alongside the poster of Varaha Roopam on Instagram to inform thei

  • Why PitchMark is calling all IP lawyers to join the Global Legal Network to help innovators

    Innovators spend most of their time and energy in creating, and often miss out on protecting their ideas, or learning about different ways to deter third parties, with whom they might share their ideas, from copying them without due credit or compensation.
    Nobody expects creators to become legal experts and that's precisely why PitchMark is building a Global Legal Network of law firms and lawye

  • China steps up its commitment to protect creators’ works from being infringed in the NFT space

    In a bid to protect copyright and stimulate creativity, the Chinese Government has intensified its efforts to monitor people who copy other creative works without their consent to create non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
    The National Copyright Administration (NCA) will clamp down on offences such as the minting of NFTs based on other people’s works like art, cartoons, music, video games, etc without

  • Did Kylie Jenner copy marketing ideas from influencers Brooklyn and Bailey?

    Sisters vs. sisters. Media personalities Kylie Jenner and Kourtney Kardashian have come under fire for using marketing tactics for their brands Lemme and Kylie Skin from influencers Brooklyn and Bailey McKnight.
    In August, twin sisters Brooklyn and Bailey launched ITK (“in the know”), a 15-piece skincare line available at Walmart, which has been marketed on all their social media accounts.

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