Issue No. 047
August 31, 2026
New York
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The IP Briefing · by ESCA Legal
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| A California federal judge dismissed Quince's lawsuit accusing UGG owner Deckers Outdoor of using a series of trademark cases to restrict competition in the shearling footwear market. |
| § | Quince alleged that Deckers pursued trademark and trade dress cases against competitors without regard to their merits. | | § | The court found that the complaint did not clearly identify the series of lawsuits and pleadings supporting Quince's antitrust theory. | | § | The ruling granted Deckers' motion to dismiss the complaint. | | § | The dispute is separate from the design patent trial in which a jury invalidated Deckers' asserted patent claims earlier this year. |
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| § ESCA Takeaway |
| This issue follows three different ways intellectual property rights are tested: a challenge to a brand owner's enforcement strategy, a settlement over branded merchandise, and new copyright claims tied to AI training and outputs. |
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| More IP Stories |
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| § Trademark · Closed |
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| Buc-ee's and a San Antonio-area seller settled a federal trademark case over stickers, flags, and bandannas featuring versions of the retailer's beaver mascot. |
| § | The parties jointly moved to dismiss all claims, with each side bearing its own costs. | | § | Settlement terms were not disclosed. | | § | Buc-ee's originally sued an unidentified online seller and later named Kingsley Blancher after obtaining third-party discovery. | | § | Blancher denied infringement and argued that the merchandise was not likely to cause consumer confusion. |
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Why it matters
Online merchandise cases often begin before a brand owner knows the seller's identity. The case shows how platform discovery can identify an operator and move an anonymous enforcement action toward settlement.
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| § Copyright · Filed |
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| Sony Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, and affiliated publishers sued Anthropic and two of its founders over alleged copying of musical compositions for Claude training and outputs. |
| § | The complaint was filed in the Northern District of California and identifies tens of thousands of allegedly infringed compositions. | | § | The publishers allege that Anthropic obtained works through torrenting, web scraping, licensed lyric sites, and other sources. | | § | The claims include direct and contributory copyright infringement and removal or alteration of copyright management information. | | § | The publishers seek damages, destruction of infringing copies, and information about Claude's training data. |
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Why it matters
The case adds major publishing catalogs and individual founder defendants to the growing set of music copyright disputes over AI development. It also combines training-data acquisition, model outputs, and copyright management information in one complaint.
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This newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Published by ESCA Legal. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Attorney advertising; prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
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