Issue No. 005
May 18, 2026
New York
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The IP Briefing · by ESCA Legal
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| Chrome Hearts voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit against Neil Young and his backing band, also called Chrome Hearts. The fashion brand had sued in September 2025, alleging that Young and the band used the Chrome Hearts name without permission and sold merchandise that could confuse consumers. |
| § | The dismissal was filed Thursday before the dispute reached a courtroom fight. | | § | The lawsuit targeted both the band name and merchandise sold under the Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts name. | | § | Chrome Hearts alleged that the band name and related merch could create confusion with the luxury fashion brand. | | § | The public filing did not specify whether the parties reached a settlement or another private resolution. |
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| Continue reading → |
| § ESCA Takeaway |
| This issue tracks how identity travels through IP disputes: a luxury brand name used by a rock band, books embedded in an AI settlement, and professional voices alleged to have been absorbed into commercial voice systems. |
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| More IP Stories |
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| § Copyright · Closed |
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| A federal judge in San Francisco did not grant final approval to Anthropic's proposed $1.5 billion settlement with authors who accused the company of using pirated books in connection with Claude. The court asked for more information on issues including attorneys' fees, lead-plaintiff payments, objections, and settlement coverage. |
| § | The proposed settlement covers more than 480,000 works and has drawn claims for more than 92 percent of them. | | § | The case followed allegations that Anthropic saved millions of pirated books in a central library. | | § | An earlier ruling found fair use for training Claude but left alleged piracy-related storage claims exposed. | | § | Some authors have objected to the settlement or opted out, including writers who filed a separate California complaint. |
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Why it matters
AI copyright litigation is moving into settlement mechanics. Court approval of a deal this large could influence how authors, publishers, and AI companies value copied training materials, opt-outs, and release terms in future disputes.
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| § Right of Publicity · Filed |
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| Journalists, podcasters, and audiobook narrators sued Google in Illinois federal court, alleging that recordings of their voices were used without permission to train voice AI systems. The complaint asserts claims tied to publicity rights and Illinois biometric privacy law. |
| § | The plaintiffs include broadcast journalists, investigative podcasters, and audiobook narrators. | | § | The suit targets alleged use of recorded speech to train products including Gemini Live, NotebookLM Audio Overviews, YouTube auto-dubbing, Google Cloud Text-to-Speech, and Google Assistant. | | § | The complaint says Google failed to obtain written consent, provide notice, or publish required biometric data retention policies. | | § | The plaintiffs seek statutory damages and injunctive relief, including a request to stop collecting voice identifiers from Illinois recordings without consent. |
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Why it matters
Voice is becoming a brand and identity asset. The case sits at the edge of IP, publicity rights, and biometric privacy, with creators arguing that an AI product can compete with the same voices it allegedly learned from.
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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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