Media Law Cases

Fiest vs. Rural

Copyright

Plaintiff- Rural Telephone Service Company - A utility company that provides telephone services in northwest Kansas. Required by Kansas to annually update telephone directory

Defendant- Feist Publications - An publishing company specializing in wide-area telephone directories, not a telephone company and lacks monopoly status. creating regional directories that span multiple counties and calling areas (covering 11 different service areas across 15 counties), making it more convenient for users

Star Athletica v. Varisty Brands

Copyright

Plaintiff- Varsity Brands -titan of the cheerleading industry. Varsity designs, manufactures, and sells cheerleading uniforms and athletic gear. Registered more than 200 copyright certificates for two-dimensional graphic designs—appearing on the surface of their uniforms.

Defendant- Star Athletica - athletic apparel store. Star, marketing cheerleading uniforms that featured graphic designs heavily resembling Varsity's copyrighted patterns, explicitly seeking to compete for the same team contracts

Perfect 10s v. Amazon

Copyright

Plaintiff- an adult entertainment company operating a highly commercial, password-protected subscription website. Their entire business model relied on selling exclusive access to high-quality, copyrighted photographs of nude models. Crucially, they also licensed a company called Fonestarz Media to distribute reduced-size versions of these images for paid download onto cell phones.

Defendant- Google operated its automated web crawler to index the internet, creating a visual search platform known as Google Image Search. Amazon made a commercial agreement with Google to seamlessly embed Google’s search technology directly into Amazon's retail site.

Warner Bros v/ RDR Books

Copyright

Plaintiff- J. K. Rowling- author, of the seven-book Harry Potter fantasy novel series, as well as companion textbooks Comic Relief: Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them.
Warner Bros. Entertainment- exclusive worldwide film production, distribution, and commercial licensing rights to the entire seven-book series

Defendant- RDR Books - A small, Michigan-based publishing firm - president, Roger Rapoport.
Steven Vander Ark- created "The Harry Potter Lexicon"—an online fan encyclopedia that compiled the lore of Rowling’s universe.

Rogers v. Koons

Copyright

Plaintiff- Art Rogers - A professional, classically trained photographer living in California.

Defendant- Jeff Koons - A globally famous, highly controversial contemporary "Neo-Pop" visual artist.

Blanch v. Koons

Copyright

Plaintiff- Andrea Blanch- A professional fashion and portrait photographer. Work been featured in Vogue, GQ, and Harper's Bazaar.

Defendant- Jeff Koons - Multi-million-dollar visual artist known for his provocative Neo-Pop installations that critique consumerism, media, and pop culture.

Leibovitz v. Paramount

Copyright

Plaintiff- Annie Leibovitz - Portrait photographers, actress Demi Moore, who was eight months pregnant.

Defendant- Paramount Pictures Corporation - Hollywood motion picture studio. Launch the comedy film Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult, starring actor Leslie Nielsen.

Cariou v. Prince

Copyright

Plaintiff- Patrick Cariou: A professional French photographer.

Defendant- Richard Prince: A famous contemporary "appropriation artist" whose works sell for millions at elite galleries.

Abercrombie & Fitch v. Hunting World

Trademark

Plaintiff- Abercrombie & Fitch -high-end sporting goods retailer

Defendant- Hunting World - luxury outdoor outfitters store founded by an African big-game hunter and conservationist.

Rogers vs Grimaldi

Trademark

Plaintiff- Ginger Rogers - an Academy Award-winning actress (Kitty Foyle, 1940). Alongside dance partner Fred Astaire

Defendant- Alberto Grimaldi - producers and theatrical distributors of the film
Federico Fellini - l egendary Italian filmmaker that created and directed Ginger and Fred

Jack Daniels Properties v. VIP Products

Trademark

Plaintiff- Jack Daniels Properties - famous whiskey brand, distinctive, square-shaped black liquor bottle, its stylized white-on-black graphics

Defendant- VIP Products - produces pet items, squeaky dog toys “Bad Spaniels” designed to look like famous alcohol containers, known as the "Silly Squeakers" line

Tiffany and Co. v. eBAY

Trademark

Plaintiff- Tiffany - world-famous American luxury jewelry brand

Defendant- eBAY - world’s largest online auction marketplace

Louis Vuittons x. My Other Bag

Trademark

Plaintiff- Louis Vuitton - ultra-exclusive luxury fashion houses

Defendant- My Other Bag - creates eco-friendly canvas tote bags designed for everyday errands

Louboutin v. YSL

Trademark

Plaintiff- Louboutin - French designer of high-fashion women's footwear and accessories.

Defendant- YSL - French luxury fashion house

T-MOBILE vs AIO Wireless

Trademark

Plaintiff- T-MOBILE - wireless carriers - self-proclaimed "Un-Carrier."

Defendant- AIO Wireless - low-cost "flanker brand" subsidiary created by AT&T

Tiffany Vs Costco

Trademark

Plaintiff- Tiffany - luxury jewelry house

Defendant- Costco - membership-only retail warehouse

Mattel v. Walking Mountain Products

Trademark

Plaintiff- Mattel - corporate giant behind the world-famous "Barbie" doll

Defendant- Tom Forsythe (Walking Mountain Products) -Utah-based photographer and fine artist -Food Chain Barble

Mayo v. Prometheus

Patent

Plaintiff- Prometheus Laboratories - California-based biotechnology company
Defendant- Mayo Collaborative Services - The world-renowned medical research center and hospital network

Alice v. CLS Bank

Patent

Plaintiff- Alice Corporation - An Australian financial technology holding company

Defendant- CLS Bank International - A international financial institution operating that processes trillions of dollars in foreign exchange transactions.

Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad

Patent

Plaintiff- Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) - A broad coalition of medical organizations, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Public Patent Foundation.

Defendant- Myriad Genetics - Utah-based molecular diagnostics corporation

Funk Bros. Seed Co. v. Kalo Inoculant Co.

Patent

Plaintiff- Kalo Inoculant Co - Legal owner of U.S. Patent No. 2,200,532, issued to inventor L.T. Bond.

Defendant- Funk Brothers Seed Co. - A competing agricultural seed and supply company.

Grand Upright Music v. Warner Bros

Copyright

Plaintiff-Grand Upright Music
Copyright of the song "Alone Again (Naturally)" by Gilbert O'Sullivan

Defendant- Biz Markie- pioneer of hip hop signed to Cold Chillin
distributed by Warner Bros. Records Inc
Album “I Need a Haircut” song “Alone Again”

Newton v. Beastie Boys

Copyright

Plaintiff- James W. Newton Jr - jazz flutist and composer, solo flute piece titled "Choir"

Defendant- Beastie Boys - multi-platinum hip-hop group, "Pass the Mic".

Campbell v. Acuff-Rose

Copyright - Parody

Plaintiff- Acuff-Rose Music, Inc -  "Oh, Pretty Woman", written by Roy Orbison and William Dees.

Defendant- 2 Live Crew - "Pretty Woman" - album "As Clean As They Wanna Be"

Abilene v. Sony

Copyright - Parody

Plaintiff- owner and publisher of the song "What a Wonderful World", popularized by Louis Armstrong

Defendant- Sony Music Entertainment, Inc. & Ghostface Killah- member of Wu-Tang Clan, "The Forest" on his album Bulletproof Wallets.

Williams v. Gaye

Copyright

Plaintiff- Pharrell Williams & Robin Thicke - biggest stars and producers. created "Blurred Lines”

Defendant- The Estate of Marvin Gaye- composed "Got to Give It Up."

A&M Records v. Napster

Copyright

Plaintiff- A&M Records, Inc. & Major Record Labels - coalition of major recording companies

Defendant- Napster, Inc - file sharing music-company