The individual who created the television series called Mucha Lucha recently filed a legal suit against the department store Kohl’s, alleging copyright infringement. Kohl’s, which has a presence in Massachusetts and other states, is the second-biggest chain of department stores in the US, with its revenues exceeding $19 billion. The plaintiff, Lili Chin, in the intellectual property dispute claimed that the copyright infringement involved designs on socks and T-shirts that Kohl’s promotes.
Chin is an illustrator and animation artist. She registered her illustrations with the nation’s copyright office back in 2013. The illustrations featured a dog named Boogie, which were based on the artist’s own dog.
The woman reportedly found out that the department store was selling clothing items with designs similar to her own illustrations. She asserted that she sent several letters to the department store but did not receive a response from Kohl’s. Thus, she decided to file a suit against the company as well as against the company that manufactured the socks Kohl’s was selling.
Copyright infringement can have a negative impact on the individual or business whose copyright was infringed in Massachusetts. The court in a case involving an intellectual property dispute will look at how much of the plaintiff’s content was reportedly used in an unauthorized manner by the defendant. It will also examine whether the market for the plaintiff’s creative work was adversely affected by the alleged infringement. Any person who is a victim of infringement has the right to hold the reported perpetrator accountable through the civil court system in an effort to right any wrong that has been committed.
Source: cartoonbrew.com, “‘Mucha Lucha’ Co-Creator Lili Chin Files Copyright Infringement Suit Against Kohl’s“, Brian Gabriel, Nov. 4, 2016