IP Law Daily, COPYRIGHT—N.D. Cal.: Comeback Media’s third amended complaint survives dismissal motion in part, (Feb 27, 2026)

By Patricia K. Ruiz, J.D.

Federal court allowed Comeback’s vicarious copyright claim to proceed while dismissing all other claims with prejudice.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California pared down copyright infringement claims by Comeback Media, Inc. d/b/a Next Impulse Sports (Comeback), allowing its vicarious copyright infringement theory to proceed. The court held that Comeback plausibly alleged the ability of Particle Media, Inc. (NewsBreak) to supervise Digital Next, Inc. (Total Impulse), a “Verified Publisher” accused of copying and republishing Comeback’s articles. The court further found that NewsBreak derived a direct financial benefit from the alleged infringement. At the same time, the court dismissed Comeback’s claims for direct and contributory copyright infringement and trademark infringement with prejudice, concluding that Comeback still failed to allege volitional conduct, knowledge or willful blindness, or direct use of Comeback’s mark by NewsBreak (Comeback Media, Inc. v. Particle Media, Inc., No. 25-cv-03298-CRB (N.D. Cal. Feb. 26, 2026)).

Background. Comeback is a digital media company that publishes articles on its websites and generates revenue through syndication deals with news apps and websites. Next Impulse, one of Comeback’s news websites, had a non-contractual relationship with Newsbreak, an app and website that platforms publisher content. NewsBreak would direct users to Next Impulse’s website from article previews on its platform. The arrangement was profitable for Comeback. However, in early 2025, visits to Next Impulse dropped precipitously.

Comeback discovered a company called Digital Next, Inc. (Total Impulse) had been copying Comeback’s articles and passing them off as its own on NewsBreak. The copies kept the same content, pictures, and even videos with many articles stating the posts originated from Next Impulse. Total Impulse was a “Verified Publisher,” meaning it had a formal partnership with NewsBreak and curated its own content. Comeback claimed that NewsBreak failed to act against Total Impulse's infringement despite being aware of it, resulting in further harm to Comeback's business. Comeback alleged that Total Impulse and the individual defendants copied and published Comeback’s news articles on NewsBreak stealing the traffic and revenue that would otherwise belong to Comeback.

Procedural history. Comeback brought an action against NewsBreak, Total Impulse, and individual defendants for claims stemming from alleged infringement of Comeback’s copyrights and trademark. Comeback asserted claims for copyright infringement, trademark infringement, unfair competition, and misappropriation.

NewsBreak moved to dismiss the claims against it by arguing that Comeback failed to state claims for copyright and trademark infringement and that Comeback’s state law claims are preempted. The court dismissed the digital media company’s claims for contributory copyright infringement, direct trademark infringement claim, and the state law claims for unfair competition and misappropriation; but determined that Comeback brought sufficient allegations to support a claim for vicarious copyright infringement.

Comeback filed a third amended complaint, and NewsBreak moved to dismiss the claims against it, arguing that Comback failed to state claims for copyright and trademark infringement. The court granted NewsBreak’s motion to dismiss in part and denied it in part.

Vicarious copyright infringement. The court allowed Comeback’s vicarious copyright infringement claim to proceed, finding that the complaint plausibly alleged NewsBreak’s right and ability to supervise Total Impulse’s conduct and a direct financial benefit from the alleged infringement. The court emphasized allegations that NewsBreak suspended Total Impulse’s account for misconduct and that NewsBreak derived traffic and advertising revenue from articles published on its platform. As the order notes, Comeback alleged that “NewsBreak would get traffic and advertising revenue from articles published on its platform” and that Total Impulse’s infringement caused a “significant decrease in revenue and traffic to Next Impulse’s articles.”

Direct copyright infringement. The court dismissed Comeback’s direct copyright infringement claim, holding that the complaint did not allege any volitional conduct by NewsBreak. The court explained that Comeback merely alleged that NewsBreak “hosted, reproduced, displayed, and distributed the infringing articles,” which describes passive or automatic functions rather than active copying. It also rejected Comeback’s argument that granting “Verified Publisher” status to Total Impulse constituted volitional conduct, noting that this status was granted “before Total Impulse had published any articles on the platform—before any copying had even occurred.”

Contributory infringement; trademark infringement. The court also dismissed Comeback’s contributory copyright infringement and trademark infringement claims. As to contributory infringement, the court found that Comeback again failed to plead knowledge or willful blindness, noting that the complaint did not allege that NewsBreak “subjectively believed that infringement was likely occurring” or that it took “deliberate actions to avoid learning about the infringement.” It further found no allegations of material contribution, emphasizing that NewsBreak suspended Total Impulse’s account upon learning of the infringement. As to trademark infringement, the court held that Comeback still failed to allege direct use by NewsBreak, reiterating that hosting or reproducing the mark merely “facilitated” Total Impulse’s use. Because Comeback had already amended its complaint multiple times, the court dismissed these claims with prejudice.

The Case is No. 3:25-cv-03298-CRB.

Judge: Breyer, C.

Attorneys: Eric Butler Evans (Perkins Coie LLP) for Comeback Media, Inc. Sheri B. Pan (Zwillgen Law LLP) for Particle Media, Inc.

Companies: Comeback Media, Inc.; Particle Media, Inc.

Cases: Copyright TechnologyInternet Trademark CaliforniaNews