Issue No. 037 · Story 03 · August 5, 2026

Crave Copyright Plaintiff Faces Fees and Appeal Bond

A federal judge found the defendants in a copyright case over Tracy Wolff's Crave novels entitled to attorney fees and ordered plaintiff Lynne Freeman to post a $150,000 bond to continue her appeal.

§The court dismissed Freeman's infringement claims in March after finding no substantial similarity between her unpublished drafts and the first four Crave novels.
§The new ruling called the claim objectively unreasonable and found that the works could have been compared much earlier in the litigation.
§The defendants requested about $3.4 million in fees, but the court signaled that the final award will be reduced.
§Freeman has appealed the dismissal and has filed additional cases involving later books and retailers that sold the series.

THE TAKEAWAY

The ruling connects work-by-work similarity review with the financial consequences of continuing a copyright case. It also shows how fee awards and appeal bonds can shape litigation after dismissal.

Source: Copyright Lately

Same issue

Jack Daniel's Loses Bad Spaniels Tarnishment Appeal

The Ninth Circuit reversed an injunction against VIP Products and directed the trial court to enter judgment for the maker of the Bad Spaniels dog toy in its long-running trademark fight with Jack Daniel's.

Trademark

Buc-ee's Opens New Ohio Mascot Trademark Fight

Buc-ee's filed a federal trademark lawsuit against Beaver's Mini Mart in Beavercreek, Ohio, alleging that the local store's cartoon beaver mascot is too similar to its own branding.

Trademark

Apple Seeks OpenAI Injunction in Trade Secret Case

Apple asked a federal court for a preliminary injunction and expedited discovery in its trade secret lawsuit against OpenAI, io, and two former Apple employees.

Trade Secret