Matthew Hersh

Copyright lawyer, writer, traveler, 1970s brit-punk enthusiast

NEW>>CHECK OUT MY PROFILE PAGE ON THE WEBSITE OF MESTAZ LAW, A FAST-GROWING PHOENIX-BASED COPYRIGHT AND COMMERCIAL LITIGATION PRACTICE

FEATURED RECENT WRITINGS


Aug 15, 2022: I wrote this amicus brief on behalf of photography expert Jeff Sedlik in the Supreme Court case of Warhol v. Goldsmith.


SELECTED CLIPS FROM THE IP LAW DAILY


Northeast Supreme v. Northeast Angels, 12/2/22

Boys against girls: Softball league is enjoined from using a baseball training facility’s marks


Getty Images v. Car Culture, Nov 14, 2022

Stay in your lane: Getty can’t force classic car photographer into arbitration proceedings


Punchbowl v. AJ Press, Nov 14, 2022

Who spiked the punch? Punchbowl News did not infringe event planning company’s ‘Punchbowl’ mark


Teva v. Eli Lilly, 10/3/22

Teva-Lilly battle over migraine medication creates a headache of its own for the court


Structured Asset Sales v. Sheeran, 9/29/22

Let’s get it on: Marvin Gaye--Ed Sheeran clash edges closer to trial


River Light v. Olem, 9/27/22

The thong remains the same? Sandal-maker accuses competitor of copying its marks


Lyga v. Warner, 9/21/22

‘Prodigal Son’ was illicit offspring of popular series of novels, a new complaint asserts


Hayden v. 2k Games, 9/20/22

Does an NBA video game ‘transform’ a player’s tattoo? A jury will have to decide


Polaris Innovations v. Brent, 9/15/22

Questions over “vacatur of vacatur” procedure once again rear their head


Shake Shack v. Brand Design Company, 9/9/22

Shake Shack Shakedown? Venerable burger chain pushes back over typeface dispute


Saber Interactive v. Oovee, 8/30/22

Lawsuit brings together two video games, the First Amendment, and a 1960s Soviet tractor


Lopez v. Pandora Media, 8/23/22

Pandora’s royalty policies are no joke to comedian George Lopez


Lee v. Anthony Lawrence Collection, 8/24/22

Fight song of historic black university can’t be the subject of an infringement suit


JTH Tax v. AMC, 8/1/22

In hit show Better Call Saul, art imitates reality, and reality bites back


Estate of Henry Joseph Darger v. Lerner, 7/27/22

A long-running dispute over the legacy of a famously reclusive artist reaches the federal courts


Lang Van v. VNG., 7/21/22

After eight-year saga, copyright owner manages to land an alleged Vietnamese infringer in U.S. courts


Starz v. MGM, 7/14/22

A sharp circuit split emerges over discovery rule damages lookback


Pyrotechnics Management v. XFX, 6/29/22

Digital messages to ignite pyrotechnics system lacked ‘even a spark of creativity’


Crowley v. Jones, 6/22/22

iLicensing 1.0: Lawsuit over scope of text message license survives early challenge


Dramatic Publishing v. Carter, 6/17/22

Dispute over To Kill a Mockingbird stage rights sent back to arbitration


Yonay v. Paramount, 5/6/22

Writer’s heirs have no loving feeling for Top Gun remake


Champlin v. Music Sales Corp., 5/31/22

Writer of ‘After the Love Has Gone’ finds no love lost with his publisher


Goldstein Productions v. Habeeb, 5/24/22

‘Cheaters’ may prosper, but they cannot compel arbitration


Harrington v. 360 ABQ, 5/19/22

Trolling the troll: A rare defense of copyright misuse moves forward


Hermès v. Rothschild, 5/18/22

First Amendment applies to digital tokens for ‘fur-covered Birkin handbag’


Sketchworks v. Jacobs, 5/12/22

Sendup of ‘misogynistic features’ of the musical ‘Grease’ is protected as parody


Keatley v. The Escape Game, 5/5/22

Maker of ‘The Escape Game’ wriggles free of attorney fees


Acuti v. Authentic Brands, 5/4/22

A happenstance signature on a document does not create a copyright termination right


United King Film Distribution v. Does, 4/26/22

An injunction targeting the operators of infringing websites may test the outer boundaries of judicial power


Wise Man Brewing v. Three Bridges Distillery, 4/22/22

A bridge too far: No protection for brewery named after notable local landmarks


Waite v. UMG, 4/15/22

Pop star John Waite, along with other recording artists of the past, seek to reclaim lost rights


Yeager v. Airbus, 4/20/22

Legendary test pilot’s personal jurisdiction argument won’t fly


Texas Lottery Commission v. Ansari, 4/18/22

One step back: Texas lottery fails to block registration of another ‘Texas Two Step’ mark


Sunlighten v. Finnmark, 3/31/22

A sauna’s appearance on ‘Dr. Oz’ winds up invalidating its patents


Hanagami v. Epic Games, 3/29/22

How long (has this been going on): Lawsuit contends Fortnite Battle Royale infringes well-known “How Long” dance choreography


Illumina v. BGI, 3/27/22

Another California slapdown: San Diego company proves a competitor willfully infringed even without specific knowledge of each purloined patent


Piccard v. Deedy, 3/21/22

No such thing as a ‘publisher infringement’ claim, a puzzled court finds


Parker v. Hinton, 3/9/22

No deposit, no returns: Failure to deposit a song with the Copyright Office precludes royalty lawsuit


Oliver v. Meow Wolf, 3/7/22

A ‘House of Eternal Return’ pays only short-term dividends, an artist contends


Wolman Archives v. Complex Media, 2/22/22

Arise and bear witness: Notorious attorney, now disbarred from practice, can still provide testimony in support of former client


Dellamorte v. The Michaels Companies, 1/27/22

Vampire Diaries (global edition): Sale of a “vampire bat” mug on Amazon and other global platforms held sufficient to support claim of access in China


VHT v. Zillow, 1/26/22

Home free: Zillow escapes major damages in copyright lawsuit over its Digs platform


Garan v. Manimal, 1/25/22

A mention on Jeopardy! bolsters the fame of the GARANIMALS mark


Beata Music v. Danelli, 1/6/22

Good Lovin’ (Gone Bad): Former member of The Rascals fails in bid to assert rights in band name


Elliott v. Cartagena, 1/5/22

Miami rapper draws the short stack over a meeting at the IHOP


In Re DMCA Subpoena to Twitter, 12/29/21

Photos of a billionaire’s ‘hot young girlfriend’ lead to the unmasking of an anonymous Twitter user


Solid 21 v. Breitling , 12/10/21

Red Gold and Green: Maker of six-figure celebrity watch is denied a trial on trademark claim


Broecker v. Widows Sons, 11/15/21

Masonic motorcycle organization casts the first stone, wins round one in lawsuit against fellow biker group


ESI Group v. Wave Six, LLC, 11/9/21

Can you hear me now? Lawsuit for theft of acoustic modeling technology gets the go-ahead for trial


VPR Brands, LP v. HQDTech USA LLC, 10/28/21

Sometimes a cigarette is just a cigarette: Complaint’s reference to “electronic cigarettes” held enough to put defendant on notice of infringement claim


Horror Inc. v. Miller, 9/30/21

Return of Jason: Screenplay for Friday the 13th goes back to its original author


Lubby Holdings LLC v. Chung, 9/21/21

Don’t get high on your own supply: Vaping company overreached in demand for infringement damages


Shepard v. Wo Hop City, Inc., 9/20/21

How to restrain your dragon: Artists win infringement case against legendary Chinatown restaurant


La Michoacana Natural, LLC v. Maestre, 9/7/21

Michoacana’s revenge: Infringement lawsuit over a popular style of Mexican ice cream boomerangs on its filer