IP Law Daily, COPYRIGHT—S.D.N.Y.: Infringement suit against Meta over business logo used in Facebook posts is dismissed, (Apr 3, 2025)

By Steven Melendez

A federal judge found the logo lacks a registered copyright and its creator failed to adequately plead Meta is liable for third-party use.

A Manhattan federal judge dismissed a copyright lawsuit against Meta over allegedly unauthorized use of a "NYC New York Cannabis" logo in third-party Facebook posts (Lopez v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 24-CV-1544 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 31, 2025)).

Robert G. Lopez, who brought the suit, holds copyright to nine photographs displaying the logo on various merchandise and marketing material. He also claims trademark and copyright rights to the logo itself, according to the court's ruling.

Around April 2023, the logo was allegedly used without authorization in posts on Meta-owned Facebook to promote an "NYC Canna Cruise" event, and Lopez sued Meta in February 2024 and amended his complaint in April 2024, including claims of copyright infringement, trademark infringement, unfair competition, and unjust enrichment.

The City of New York in May 2024 moved to intervene, alleging that it is involved in its own trademark suit against Lopez over the logo and has won a preliminary injunction barring him from using it. The City asked for a declaratory judgment that "Lopez has no rights in" the cannabis logo and injunctions barring him from filing further copyright and trademark lawsuits without leave of the court.

Meta moved to dismiss the case, and Lopez moved to file a secon amendment complaint. The court allowed the new amended complaint but dismissed it, finding it was "defective based on issues that have been fully briefed with respect to his first complaint."

Copyright claim. The court found that Lopez doesn't have "a valid copyright in the Logo," noting that the U.S. Copyright Office rejected registration in a photo of the logo.

"The refusal is unsurprising," the court found, citing precedent holding that copyright law doesn't cover "short phrases, titles, and slogans" or "familiar slogans or designs."

And to the extent Lopez argued that Meta copied his various copyrighted photos of materials including the logo, the court rejected that argument, finding that photograph copyrights cover aspects of a photo itself, not what's depicted in it.

"The only similarity between Lopez’s photographs and the Facebook post is the Logo itself, not any artistic expression relating to the Logo," according to the ruling. "Therefore, Lopez’s copyrighted works and the allegedly infringing work are not substantially similar as a matter of law."

Additionally, the court found Lopez didn't adequately plead that Meta would be liable for copyright infringement based on a user posting the logo on Facebook, pointing to other cases involving online platforms and copyright that drew a similar conclusion.

Unjust enrichment. Lopez had also brought a claim against Meta for unjust enrichment.

But Section 301 of the Copyright Act preempts state law claims for rights equivalent to those provided by federal copyright law, according to the ruling. Since Lopez's claim is based on Meta's profits from the use of his logo, it falls into that category and must be dismissed, the court found.

Trademark and NYC intervenor complaint. Lopez dropped his trademark complaint against Meta, and the court dismissed his other claims. As a result, and since the City of New York already has a pending trademark case against Lopez, the court dismissed the City's intervenor complaint without prejudice.

The court also dismissed Lopez's complaint with prejudice, declining to offer him leave to further amend, citing his failure to fix defects in previous amended complaints and his familiarity with copyright law as a "serial IP litigant" who has filed numerous cases in the district in the past.

The Case is No. 24-CV-1544.

Judge: Oetken, J.

Attorneys: Robert G. Lopez, pro se. Caroline Koo Simons (Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP) for Meta Platforms, Inc.

Companies: Meta Platforms, Inc.

Cases: Copyright TechnologyInternet Trademark NewYorkNews