The Arena Group Holdings and Manoj Bhargava, owner of 5-hour Energy, were hit with a copyright and trademark infringement lawsuit on April 1 in New York Southern District Court. The court action, filed by Kaplan Hecker & Fink on behalf of the owners of Sports Illustrated ABG Intermediate Holdings 2, ABG-Si and Authentic Brands Group, accuses the defendants of breaching a licensing agreement by failing to pay the plaintiffs $3.8 million in royalties and commissions, in addition to failing to pay ABG $48.8 million for terminating their contract. The suit further accuses the defendants of continuing to use the plaintiff's 'SI' and 'Esport Illustrated' trademarks beyond the termination of the licensing agreement and unlawfully registering the 'FanNation' trademark as their own. Furthermore, the defendants refuse to return the plaintiff's confidential proprietary information unless they pay $50 million as 'ransom.' Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 1:24-cv-02432, Authentic Brands Group, LLC v. The Arena Group Holdings, Inc.
Entertainment, Sports & Media
April 01, 2024, 9:20 AM