Issue No. 061 · October 2, 2026

Bill Withers' publisher brings an Olivia Dean song case, Quince wins a pleading ruling, and ROSS loses its copyright appeal.

Bill Withers' Publisher Sues Over Olivia Dean Song

Mattie Music Group, the publisher of Bill Withers' catalog, filed a federal copyright lawsuit over Olivia Dean's I've Seen It. The complaint alleges that the song copies protected melody from Just the Two of Us and names Capitol Records, Universal Music Group, Sony, and Kobalt entities as defendants. Dean and her co-writers are not defendants.

Quince Wins Dismissal of Williams-Sonoma Advertising Claims

A California federal judge dismissed Williams-Sonoma's false advertising and related claims against Quince without prejudice. The September 30 order found that the retailer had not plausibly alleged actionable false or misleading comparisons. Williams-Sonoma may file an amended complaint by October 21.

Trademark

Third Circuit Rejects ROSS Copyright Fair Use Defense

The Third Circuit affirmed partial summary judgment for Thomson Reuters in its copyright case against ROSS Intelligence. The court held that 2,243 Westlaw headnotes were sufficiently original for protection and that ROSS's use of them to train a competing legal search system was not fair use.

Original briefing

All issues →