Thread by @Paul_Lesko

We have two updates on the BangBros litigation!

First up...the case against BangBros has been dismissed...I know, I know...don't cry. BUT, BangBros was the wrong party.

Second up - WE HAVE A NEW LAWSUIT AS PANINI SUED RYAN J. CARTER AS THE ALLEGED INDIVIDUAL BEHIND THE CARDS

Should we do a live read of the new complaint?

SURE!

Oh, and Happy Friday to all those who observe Fridays!

Anyway, before we get into this new case, here's a refresher on how we got here.

Diving into the new complaint, it starts off similar to the last complaint by going through Panini's IP including the RATED ROOKIE and PANINI logos...

...and then we get into BangBros dot Cards section.

First up: On May 5, Sonesta (a/k/a the actual BangBros...who Panini originally sued) filed a complaint to cancel BangBros dot Cards domain...and when it did that, the registrar ID'd Ryan Carter as the registrant.

So there we have our first bit of newness: how the defendant was ID'd.

Next up, the complaint runs through "Defendant's Wrongful Use of Panini's Trademarks" and this is really a re-hash of the last complaint, pointing out that Bang Bros dot Cards infringed the RATED ROOKIE and PANINI trademarks...among others.

Like with the former complaint, there are no images of the cards because Panini apparently apparently thinks judges' delicate sensibilities can't handle these cards.

And then the complaint goes right into the claims for federal trademark infringement, trademark dilution (federal, state and common law), unfair competition (federal, state and common law) and unjust enrichment.

Panini also seeks an injunction to shut down Bang Bros dot Cards as well as to "destroy any products or images that include the Panini Marks or any other marks that are confusingly identical or similar to the Panini Marks."

DESTROY THOSE CARDS

And that's about it for now!

The motion for temporary restraining order we saw in the Sonesta case has not been filed (yet)...but, I guess the big update is it Panini believes it has now sued the right person.

...and the allegedly right person is a California resident and an individual (obviously)...so instead of getting a big trademark battle against two companies, we get a company suing someone who potentially made these cards out of his basement.

Sigh.

As to who is Ryan J. Carter? We don't know yet...but there was a Ryan J. Carter from Victorville who has run into issues with the law previously.

Same person?

<Shrug>

patch.com/california/pal…

Like I said, the complaint does not provide actual pics of the allegedly infringing cards, but there is a 20+ page exhibit with links to many many many BangBros dot Cards' cards.

First four pages are below

So now we get into the fun questions:

1) Who is Ryan Carter?
2) Will the actual Bang Bros get more involved than just a lawsuit to shut down the domain?
3) Are the autos on (some of) these cards real?
4) Did the defendant have agreements with the models on the cards?

Also...Sonesta/BangBros proceedings against the domain are ongoing...that'll be fun to watch too

Just thinking of all the IP potentially infringer