{"id":9076,"date":"2025-12-16T22:09:23","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T22:09:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/lady-gaga-ruling-dionne-warwick-lawsuit-lizzo-case-more-music-law\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T22:09:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T22:09:23","slug":"lady-gaga-ruling-dionne-warwick-lawsuit-lizzo-case-more-music-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/lady-gaga-ruling-dionne-warwick-lawsuit-lizzo-case-more-music-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Lady Gaga Ruling, Dionne Warwick Lawsuit, Lizzo Case & More Music Law"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\tTHE BIG STORY<\/strong>: Trademarks are important. They\u2019re what protect consumers from confusing knockoffs in a messy marketplace by making clear the genuine source of a product. Imagine trying to buy something online if you had no idea whether it was really from the brand you wanted.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut it\u2019s also really hard to sue over the use of a trademark in a movie or a song \u2013 and that\u2019s important too. The First Amendment allows artists to express themselves freely, without fear of being dragged into court because they mentioned a brand name. Just ask Mattel how it went when they sued Aqua over their 1997 megahit \u201cBarbie Girl.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\tThat legal dynamic was on full display this week in Los Angeles federal court, when Lady Gaga scored a key victory in a trademark infringement lawsuit over her chart-topping Mayhem <\/em>album, filed by a surf company that sells a brand of Mayhem surfboards. To find out what happened, go read the full story.<\/p>\n

\n\tYou\u2019re reading The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from <\/em>Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings and all the fun stuff in between. To get the newsletter in your inbox every Tuesday, subscribe here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n\t\tOther top stories this week\u2026\t<\/h3>\n

\n\tRIGHTS ROW <\/strong>\u2013 Dionne Warwick is facing a new lawsuit claiming she\u2019s turned her back on a rights management company that repped her for years on tricky matters, including the deal for the famed sample of her song \u201cWalk on By\u201d in Doja Cat\u2018s chart-topping hit \u201cPaint the Town Red.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLIZZO LITIGATION<\/strong> \u2013 Lizzo\u2019s ex-backup dancers urged an appeals court to reject the star\u2019s free speech arguments and let their sexual harassment lawsuit go to trial. But Lizzo herself also spoke out on the case, pointing out that the dancers had quietly dropped their incendiary \u201cfat shaming\u201d claim last month: \u201cIt never happened. Now the truth is finally out.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\tUNDISCLOSED DEAL<\/strong> \u2013 A new lawsuit revealed for the first time that Capitol Christian Music Group (Capitol CMG) came close to buying Christian hip-hop label Reach Records this past summer, but allegedly backed out at the last minute over concerns about the price.<\/p>\n

\n\tASSAULT CHARGES <\/strong>\u2013 R&B singer Trey Songz was arrested in Manhattan on criminal charges over two separate alleged violent incidents within a one-week span, including punching a man in the face at a Times Square nightclub and destroying property at a hookah bar.<\/p>\n

\n\tAI-ERA LIBEL LAW<\/strong> \u2013 Ray J doubled down on his claim that Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner have engaged in RICO violations, a statement that got him sued for defamation. In a new filing, he says their family business empire is \u201ca criminal enterprise akin to the mob\u201d \u2013 and that ChatGPT assured him that was a valid thing to say.<\/p>\n

\n\tARE YOU EXPERIENCED?<\/strong> A trial kicked off in London over whether Jimi Hendrix\u2019s bandmates are entitled to royalties from the rock legend\u2019s catalog, pitting Hendrix\u2019s estate and Sony Music against the heirs of bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell.<\/p>\n

\n\tCOVER FLAP <\/strong>\u2013 Rod Wave was hit with a copyright lawsuit claiming he stole the photo featured on the cover of his 2024 album Last Lap<\/em> from a Florida photographer who snapped it at a concert.<\/p>\n

\n\tFAKE MERCH FIGHT<\/strong> \u2013 A judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by the estate of MF Doom seeking to hold Temu liable for selling counterfeit versions of the late hip-hop legend\u2019s merchandise.<\/p>\n


\"Billboard
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