A judge has denied AEW’s motion to dismiss lawsuit over a star’s attire.
In December 2022, Composite Effects filed a lawsuit against both AEW and Luchasaurus over the mask design the star uses on the company’s programming.
On March 21 2023, AEW moved to dismiss five of the six counts raised by Composite Effects that argues AEW is “using a copyrighted mask design for merchandising purposes without the permission of the designer.”
Per Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, the judge in the Luchasaurus mask lawsuit on May 16 ruled to deny Austin Matelson, also known as Luchasaurus, and AEW’s motion to dismiss.
Composite Effects’ allegations of violation of copyright, LUPTA, and breach of contract all survive.
Thurston provided quotes from the dismissal, which reads:
“Given that that ‘the question of substantial similarity typically should be left to the factfinder… and given the evident visual similarity of the works in question, the Court cannot find that no reasonable jury could find that Defendants have violated CFX’s copyright.”
Ultimately this comes down to whether CFX’s copyrighted “Viper Silicone Mask” is “substantially similar” enough to the modified version AEW is merchandising. The judge is unconvinced that they are dissimilar enough to dismiss.
We will have further updates on the lawsuit when they become available.
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