Tag Archives: lawsuit

Dynamic Forces, aka Dynamite, responds to Sparkle Pop’s Breach of Contract Lawsuit. Files Counterclaim Against Sparkle Pop!

Dynamite Entertainment

In mid-September, Sparkle Pop filed a lawsuit against Dynamic Forces, aka Dynamite Entertainment, for what it claims as breach of contract. Sparkle Pop is the new entity that has taken over Diamond Comic Distributors in its chapter 11 process. Sparkle Pop claims Dynamic has “made millions of dollars from its long-standing commercial relationship” but “failed to reimburse Plaintiff for certain costs incurred.” The lawsuit is an attempt to recover those costs. The lawsuit claims that Dynamic was to reimburse Diamond for “storage fees, freight costs, certain marketing-related expenses, and other costs.” Sparkle Pop is looking for damages including interest and costs, disbursements, and attorney’s fees. Dynamic and Dynamite are suing Sparkle Pop/”new” Diamond and claiming they are owed over $500,000 themselves.

Now, Dynamic has responded to Sparkle Pop’s claims and…. filed a counterclaim seeking damages from Sparkle Pop!

Dynamic’s response gets right into things, admitting to simple statement of facts while denying much of the rest. This is a pretty standard response but there are some highlights:

Under Parties: “Denied in part, Sparkle Pop is not the holder of all right title and interest to the assets and receivables owing to Diamond Comic Distributors (“DCD”) pursuant to an Order of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland”

Under Factual Allegations: “denied that any contract, receivable, and/or consignment related to Dynamic was purchased through the DCD Bankruptcy sale.”

Those two are setting it up that Sparkle doesn’t have the rights to the claim/contract it’s suing under. In short, old Diamond should be the one suing if anyone, and that was settled it would seem.

Now, to the counts.

Breach of Contract

…denied that Dynamic agreed to pay for certain fees and expenses incurred by DCD at all times relevant to the claims asserted in this matter.

And with all of that denial, Dynamic has requested the judge to rule against Sparkle Pop. It then lists a whole lot of reasons that Sparkle Pop doesn’t have an argument and failed to make its case.

But, where it gets interesting is that Dynamic has included a counterclaim in their response.

In it, Dynamic focuses on the consigned goods, a heated point of contention. When Sparkle Pop purchased Diamond’s assets, it didn’t purchase the consigned goods. But, Sparkle Pop wound up selling those goods and pocketed the money. They’ve been called out and the money is currently is sitting in a bank account controlled by the court until a decision is made as to who “owns” the consigned goods that remain and the ones that have been sold. None of that can be argued.

Because of that, Dynamic is going after Sparkle Pop for the sale of the goods in the amount of $644,403.35 plus attorneys fees and more.

This one should be interesting since it’s now a fact in the court and Sparkle Pop has admitted to doing exactly what Dynamic has claimed.

Dynamic is seeking damages, interest, costs and disbursements. The challenge will be the current ongoing debate in court about the consigned goods and who has a right to them, which is still in the process of being determined.

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Disney and Universal vs. Midjourney takes its Next Steps as Midjourney Responds to Charges and a Discovery Plan is Submitted

In June, Disney and Universal teamed up for a lawsuit against Midjourney, the AI image generation tool. In their filing, the companies called Midjourney a “bottomless pit of plagiarism” that generates “endless unauthorized copies.” Midjourney is also being sued by Warner Bros. Discovery for similar reasons.

Since that initial filing, the court case has been mostly getting things organized and preparation for a possible trial with disclosure forms, attorneys being hired, and time frames extended.

We now have two bigger developments, Midjourney’s response to the initial lawsuit as well as a plan for discovery.

Midjourney responded to Disney and Universal’s complaint asking for a Jury Trial in their August filing. The filing goes into the history of Midjourney describing their process as “s akin to how humans learn to draw or paint—not by memorizing individual artworks, but by internalizing patterns and techniques through repeated exposure and practice.”

They go on to say both Disney and Universal have benefited from what Midjourney and other AI tools do, stating that dozens of Midjourney subscribers have Disney and Universal email addresses and that Disney CEO Bob Iger said that AI is “an invaluable tool for artists.”

The filing by Midjourney takes the “Fair Use” defense saying what they do is transformative and that it’s not Midjourney isn’t infringing, it’s the users of the tool it is. They claim in their response that the Midjourney terms of service require users to refrain from “infringing the intellectual property rights of others,” but how are they to know as a tech company if the users are and there are “legitimate, non-infringing grounds to create images incorporating characters from popular culture.”

Midjourney then states Disney and Universal should have followed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act process and gone through the takedown procedure by identifying specific images Disney and Universal believe are infringing and provide URLs where they’re displayed. It would have allowed accused individuals to respond.

Midjourney states they aren’t “profiting” off of the claimed infringement and there isn’t “harm” identified by the complainants. According to our searches, Midjourney had $200 million in revenue in 2023, $300 million 2024, and an estimated $500 million in 2025. profit is not publicly available information.

Midjourney ends their opening argument that the law recognizes you need to allow limited use of copyrighted material to create new technologies.

The rest of the filing are specific responses to Disney and Universal’s complaint with much of it being “prove it in court.”

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The second major update has to do with next steps, like discovery and proposed trial dates. Discovery, in short, is the process where a side asks the other for documents, aka evidence. They then go through the documents to see what can be handed over, and then lawyers comb through the documents to find information that helps their case. It can involve millions of documents and a pretty important part of the process.

Judge John A. Kronstadt submitted some documents to instruct both sides on next steps.

The first is a report needs to be filed with a lot of information like what the general information is about the case, timetables, a discovery plan, any settlement discussions, damages, insurance coverage, witnesses, if it should be done over conference phone, and more.

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That court requirement has been filed with timetables and more. It is believed the trial itself will require 14 court days but they two sides didn’t agree on the discovery aspect, instead each coming up with proposals.

The timetable proposed, by either side, would have this case going well into 2027 as each side does discovery, talks to witness, and then rebuts with more discovery and talking to witnesses.

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Sparkle Pop is Suing Dynamic Forces aka Dynamite, for Breach of Contract. Seeking over $1.7 million.

Dynamite Entertainment

2025 is the year of comic related lawsuits and court filings. In September Sparkle Pop filed a civil action against Dynamic Forces, aka Dynamite Entertainment over a breach of contract.

In its introduction, Sparkle Pop claims Dynamic has “made millions of dollars from its long-standing commercial relationship” but “failed to reimburse Plaintiff for certain costs incurred.” The lawsuit is an attempt to recover those costs. The contract between Dynamic and Diamond (the original, “old” Diamond) began on October 1, 2015 and Diamond was Dynamic’s “exclusive worldwide distributor. Dynamic was to reimburse Diamond for “storage fees, freight costs, certain marketing-related expenses, and other costs.” The lawsuit claims Dynamic failed to reimburse Diamond for those costs and fees. Sparkle Pop, the owner of “new” Diamond, is suing over that and claims they have made efforts to collect the receivables since they closed in purchasing Diamond in May 2025.

The lawsuit’s counts are:

  • Breach of Contract – Dynamic and Diamond had an agreement and Diamond performed its obligations under the agreement. Dynamic failed to reimburse Diamond and Sparkle Pop for those costs and expenses. That total sum is in excess of $1.7 million dollars.
  • Quantum Meruit Recovery – Diamond has performed its services which has benefited Dynamic. Dynamic has been “unjustly enriched” and Sparkle Pop is entitled to recover the reasonable value of the services provided. An amount will be determined at trial but it includes interest, costs, and more.

Sparkle Pop is looking for damages including interest and costs, disbursements, and attorney’s fees. A summons was issued to Dynamic on September 15.

Where it gets crazier is that Dynamic and Dynamite are suing Sparkle Pop/”new” Diamond and claiming they are owed over $500,000 themselves.

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Paolo Belfiore and Cadence Comic Art Respond to Allegations of Theft and Fraud with “Lacks Sufficient Knowledge or Information”

Cadence Comic Art

In August, 17 artists filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against Cadence Comic Art and Paolo Belfiore claiming “egregious misconduct” by the two. They accuse Cadence Comic Art and Belfiore of defrauding the plaintiffs regarding the sale of original art and are owed over $473,000 as well as refusing to return art still in his possession.

Belfiore has responded to the allegations and complaint with a two page document. He’s appearing “pro se” currently, meaning he’s representing himself.

Belfiore asked for an extension to respond in early September saying he needed more time to respond and wasn’t able to contact the plaintiff’s counsel. The plaintiff’s counsel responded not long after that Belfiore had been in contact with them and the reason he gave was he was seeking representation.

  • Belfiore doesn’t dispute and admits the allegations 4-24 and 26-27 in the complaint.
  • Belfiore says he “lacks sufficient knowledge or information to admit or deny the allegations” in paragraphs 1-3, 25, and 28-79 of the complaint.

That might all sound odd but when you look at the original allegations it’s a bit clearer.

Belfiore admits he has done business with the individuals which is paragraphs 4-24 and that he lives in New York and the court has jurisdiction which is paragraphs 26-27.

All of the other paragraphs are the accusations of fraud, his violating New York State law, and much more.

None of this is an odd response and a basic challenge to the accusations forcing the accusers to continue to pursue the case.

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Anthropic’s $1.5 billion Copyright Settlement Gets Preliminary Approval

Anthropic

The $1.5 billion settlement by Anthropic over the use of the works of authors to train AI is back on the table. In early September, the record setting agreement was announced by Anthropic and lawyers representing authors but that agreement was rejected by the judge for the case due to multiple concerns.

Now, U.S. District Judge William Alsup has called the class-action settlement “fair” during a hearing that took place on Thursday.

The next step is to notify the affected authors and give them a chance to file claims.

Anthropic is accused of using millions of pirated of books to teach its AI assistant Claude to respond to prompts.

The case has been interesting as Anthropic had been cleared from some of its wrongdoing with the judge ruling that training their model on purchased work was “exceedingly transformative.” Where Anthropic ran into issues was its use of pirated material in that training. About 7 million pirated books were saved to a “central library.”

As reported earlier, the settlement would cover anything done before a certain date but any new infractions after could lead to further lawsuits. Anthropic would also destroy the datasets used in its models. The settlement would amount to about $3,000 per class work.

A trial was set to begin in December over the piracy. Potential damages would have been in the hundreds of billions of dollars.

Judge Recuses Himself in Warner Bros. vs. Midjourney

In September, Warner Bros. Discovery along with Hanna-Barbera Productions, Turner Entertainment, DC Comics, and The Cartoon Network sued AI startup Midjourney claiming the tech company “brazenly dispenses its intellectual property as if it were its own.” The filing was submitted September 4. The case was assigned to District Judge Percy Anderson and Magistrate Judge Charles F. Eick. Now, one of those judges, Percy Anderson, has recused himself from the case.

The reason in the document is listed as 28 U.S.C. section 455 which is basically a bunch of conflicts like impartiality, personal bias, a financial interest, some connection to the case, and many more.

The case has been reassigned to Judge John A. Kronstadt.

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Judge rejects the $1.5 billion Anthropic AI Settlement with Authors Due to Lack of Details

Anthropic

It was a record setting settlement by Anthropic to authors and it has been rejected by Judge William Alsup with much more to be done. The federal judge has concerns with a $1.5 billion settlement deal and it’ll be forced “down the throat of authors.”

The judge reportedly felt misled by the deal and that it was “nowhere close to complete.” The judge said he was disappointed that counsel have left important questions to be answered in the future.” Questions include some key ones like the list of works involved in the case, the list of authors, the process of notifying members of the class and the claim form members can use to get their settlement payment.

Anthropic was sued for using the works of authors to train its AI model. In the case, U.S. District Judge William Aslup ruled that Anthropic’s use of the books in training models was “exceedingly transformative,” a factor to determine if the use was under legal “fair use.” It was a major decision, the first concerning the issue. But, there was still a question of Anthropic pirating books from the internet to train its models, which would still need to settled in a trial.

In short, they were covered with what they purchased but there was all of the other stuff they pirated that was left to be decided if that was legal or not.

Anthropic in the settlement would have paid $1.5 billion and destroyed datasets used in its models.

About 500,000 authors were involved and they’d have received about $3,000 per work.

The lawyers need to give the class members “very good notice” about the settlement as well as design as claim form where those authors can opt in or out. Anthropic also can’t be sued for the same issue in the future as part of all of this.

The lawyers have until September 15 to submit a final list of works involved in the lawsuit. A class members list and claims form need to be examined and approved by the court by October 10.

After all of that, the court might grant preliminary approval.

(via Bloomberg Law)

Artist’s Lawyer Responds to Paolo Belfiore’s Extension Request In Cadence Comic Art Lawsuit

Cadence Comic Art

In early August, 17 artists filed a lawsuit against Paolo Belfiore and Cadence Comic Art. The lawsuit claimed “egregious misconduct” by Belfiore and Cadence Comic Art accusing them of defrauding the plaintiffs out of money and seeking damages in excess of $473,000 plus more. A summons was issued on August 13 to Belfiore and Cadence Comic Art. Belfiore has submitted a letter to the court asking for a 30-day extension to respond to the complaint. In the letter, Belfiore says he was served with the complaint on August 16 and there’s a current deadline to respond is September 9, 2025 and asking for an extension to October 9.

In his letter to the court, Belfiore states he “yet been able to contact the plaintiff’s counsel regarding their position on this request.”

While the lawyer for the artists has no issue with the extension, there is an issue with Belfiore’s letter. They dispute that Belfiore hasn’t been in contact with them. In a letter submitted by the lawyers, there’s correspondence between them where they say they have no issue with the extension and Belfiore states the reason is he’s seeking representation.

A rather odd start to the lawsuit.

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Paolo Belfiore Asks for an Extension to Respond to the Lawsuit Against Him and Cadence Comic Art

Cadence Comic Art

In early August, 17 artists filed a lawsuit against Paolo Belfiore and Cadence Comic Art. The lawsuit claimed “egregious misconduct” by Belfiore and Cadence Comic Art accusing them of defrauding the plaintiffs out of money and seeking damages in excess of $473,000 plus more. A summons was issued on August 13 to Belfiore and Cadence Comic Art.

Belfiore has submitted a letter to the court asking for a 30-day extension to respond to the complaint. In the letter, Belfiore says he was served with the complaint on August 16 and there’s a current deadline to respond is September 9, 2025.

Belfiore is asking for an extension until October 9 to prepare the response.

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Anthropic has agreed to pay $1.5 billion to Settle an AI Lawsuit with Authors

Anthropic logo

As we bring the news of Warner Bros. Discovery’s lawsuit against Midjourney, another case involving AI and theft is being settled. Anthropic has agreed to pay at least $1.5 billion into a class action fund as part of a settlement. The litigation was brought by a group of book authors.

The settlement releases Anthropic for it conduct up to August 25. That means new claims could be filed for any conduct after that date. Anthropic will also destroy the datasets used in its models.

The settlement amount is about $3,000 per class work.

A hearing in the case is scheduled for September 8. A “settlement in principle” was previously announced by Anthropic and the creators.

In the case, U.S. District Judge William Aslup ruled that Anthropic’s use of the books in training models was “exceedingly transformative,” a factor to determine if the use was under legal “fair use.” It was a major decision, the first concerning the issue. But, there was still a question of Anthropic pirating books from the internet to train its models, which would still need to settled in a trial.

Even though they’ll be paying $1.5 billion, it is a win for Antropic and possibly other AI companies allowing them to purchase a copy of the work, and then train their model off of it.

While $3,000 might not seem like a lot, it’s more than the $750 statutory damages amount a jury could award and more than the $200 amount if Anthropic were to prevail on its defense of innocent infringement.

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