Issue No. 053
September 14, 2026
New York
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The IP Briefing · by ESCA Legal
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| Samsung asked a California federal court to dismiss Dua Lipa's $15 million lawsuit over the use of her photograph on television boxes. |
| § | The boxes displayed Lipa's image as part of the Samsung TV Plus interface and its Xite Hits channel offering. | | § | Samsung argues that the packaging showed available television content and did not suggest that Lipa endorsed the televisions. | | § | The company says a content partner gave explicit assurance that permission covered use of the image on retail boxes. | | § | Lipa alleges that the use violated copyright, trademark, and right-of-publicity protections after cease-and-desist demands were ignored. |
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| Continue reading → |
| § ESCA Takeaway |
| Commercial use of creative identity can place several rights in the same dispute. This issue follows a packaging case involving image and endorsement claims, a catalog fight over statutory termination, and a song case focused on whether expert evidence should reach a jury. |
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| More IP Stories |
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| § Copyright · Filed |
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| Shabba Ranks filed a federal lawsuit seeking a declaration that he can terminate an earlier publishing transfer and reclaim rights in songs including Mr. Loverman, Housecall, and Dem Bow. |
| § | The complaint was filed September 11 in the Southern District of New York against Greensleeves Publishing. | | § | Ranks notified Greensleeves in 2023 that he intended to exercise the Copyright Act's termination right. | | § | Greensleeves contends that a 1989 agreement classified the compositions as works made for hire, which are excluded from statutory termination. | | § | Ranks argues that he was not an employee and that the compositions cannot qualify as commissioned works made for hire under the statute. |
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Why it matters
The case applies copyright termination rules to a catalog whose songs helped shape dancehall and reggaeton. The dispute turns on whether contract language can overcome the statute's limits on work-made-for-hire status.
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| § Copyright · Pending |
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| A California federal judge issued a tentative view that he would deny Sam Smith and Normani's summary-judgment motion in a copyright case over Dancing With a Stranger, then took the motion under submission. |
| § | Songwriter Jordan Vincent alleges that the 2019 hit copied the hook of his 2015 song with the same title. | | § | The judge said the plaintiff's experts had enough foundation for their opinions to be considered, even though he did not endorse their conclusions. | | § | Vincent withdrew a widespread-access theory and must now show that the songs are strikingly similar. | | § | Smith and Normani argue that the alleged similarities involve commonplace musical elements and portions affected by unlicensed samples in Vincent's song. |
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Why it matters
The hearing highlights the boundary between judicial screening and jury factfinding in music cases. Expert foundation, protectable expression, and the effect of preexisting samples all shape whether a similarity claim survives summary judgment.
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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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