Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street, has filed two identical lawsuits in the Northern District of Indiana against a group of unidentified online sellers accused of selling counterfeit and unauthorized products featuring its well-known characters and trademarks including SESAME STREET, BIG BIRD (Copyright Reg. No. VA0001693460), BERT (Copyright…
Articles Posted in Copyright Infringement
Washed Away: Photographer Says Facebook Groups Erased Her Watermark
The top photo has Tara Mapes’ copyright watermark on it. The bottom photograph, while nearly identical, has Angelic Ice Photography Branding instead of Tara Mapes’ watermark. A new lawsuit has been filed by photographer and digital artist Tara Mapes, who claims her copyrighted work has been repeatedly copied and distributed…
Supplement Maker Prescribes Lawsuit in Label Dispute
Allseason IpCo, LLC has filed a lawsuit against two Chinese defendants, Jiabao Wang and a company nicknamed Guangzhou. The case centers on allegations of willful copyright infringement and misrepresentation under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Allseason IpCo, which sells health supplements under the brand name CLEAN NUTRA or CLEAN…
A Shot of Litigation: Photographer Squeezes Long Drink with Lawsuit
A federal lawsuit has been filed in Indiana by New York photographer John Taggart against Lonkero, LLC, which does business as The Long Drink Company. The case centers on claims that the LLC used one of Taggart’s copyrighted photographs without permission on its social media accounts. According to the complaint,…
License to Grill? Meat Company, Lighthouse Custom Meats LLC, Sued Over Rib Photo Use
A recent lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana centers on allegations of copyright infringement involving a photograph of barbecued pork ribs. The plaintiff, Rockefeller Photos, LLC, a media company based in Florida, accuses Lighthouse Custom Meats LLC, a meat processing business in…
Snapshot Sacrilege: Photographer Claims Crucifixion Image Was Taken in Vain
Photographer Sam Mugraby has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in the Southern District of Indiana against Nuthak Insurance, LLC. Mugraby, an Israeli citizen and owner of Boxist.com, alleges that the Indiana-based insurance company used one of his copyrighted images without permission. The image in question is titled “Jesus On Cross…
R Bar’s Unauthorized Playlist Sparks $30K-Per-Song Copyright Lawsuit
A lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana by two music publishing companies, Delicate Music and W Chappell Music Corp., against A and R, Inc. and Amy Gatchel. The companies are accusing the defendants of copyright infringement for publicly playing music…
Framed: A Shot from the 2001 World Series Sparks Legal Exposure in Kelly v. Young
A lawsuit originally filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana by photographer David E. Kelly has been transferred to the federal court in Arizona as of June 17, 2025. Kelly, who resides in Carmel, Indiana, brought the case against a wide range of individuals and…
BMI Cranks Up the Volume in Another Lawsuit Over Unauthorized Jams: Broadcast Music, Inc v. Mikie’s Pub
Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) along with several music publishers have filed yet another lawsuit in Indiana this year (previous lawsuit), this time against 5135 Emerson LLC, which operates Mikie’s Pub in Indianapolis, and against an individual named Scott Coyle. The plaintiffs allege that the defendants publicly played copyrighted songs from…
One Subscription, Many Downloads, Big Trouble: Energy Intelligence Group Inc. v. Calumet, Inc.
Energy Intelligence Group, Inc. and its UK-based counterpart have filed a lawsuit against Indianapolis, Indiana company, Calumet, Inc., claiming that Calumet repeatedly copied and distributed issues of the plaintiffs’ copyrighted publications—Oil Daily and Energy Intelligence News—without authorization. The lawsuit, brought in the U.S. District Court for Southern Indiana, accuses Calumet…