(2019) Tags: Warner Bros. | MGM
DEUS EX MACHINA MOTORCYCLES PTY. LTD. v. METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER INC.
Plaintiff Deus Ex Machina is maker of custom motorcycle parts and hand-built motorcycles, as well as motorcycle themed clothing. Deus Ex Machina asserts that Warner Bros & MGM used unauthorized, infringing and inferior quality knockoff clothing in the movie ‘The Sun Is Also a Star’.
In both the Movie and the Trailer for ‘The Sun Is Also a Star’, the lead actress in the Movie, Yara Shahidi, who played teenager “Natasha Kingsley,” wears a blue and rustic gold bomber jacket with the words “DEUS EX MACHINA” inscribed in the back in large letters. Deus Ex Machina is informed and believes, and on that basis alleges, that the style and coloring of the Jacket is not consistent with and/or is inferior in quality to what most consumers and motorcycle enthusiasts would associate with a motorcycle lifestyle consistent with the mark.
Deus Ex Machina is informed and believes that the lead actor in the Movie, Charles Melton, who played teenager “Daniel Bae”, posed for pictures posted to social media to help promote the Movie in which he wore clothing actually sold by Deus Ex Machina, creating the impression that Deus Ex Machina was involved in promoting the Movie and that the use of inferior infringing products and references in the Movie to DEUS EX MACHINA were authorized by Deus Ex Machina.
Deus Ex Machina is informed and believes, and on that basis alleges, that every time either the offending Trailer or Movie is watched, or copies of the Jacket are advertised, sold or worn in public, Deus Ex Machina is injured because: Deus Ex Machina is being associated with a schmaltzy teen-style love story, totally inconsistent with the brand image Deus Ex Machina has built and it is is being associated with a flop movie that did poor box office business.