IP Law Daily, COPYRIGHT—S.D.N.Y.: Psychic Readers Network loses copyright, trademark dispute over A&E’s ‘Miss Cleo’ biopic, (Sep 4, 2025)

By Cathleen Calhoun, J.D.

“Miss Cleo” was a television psychic who, in the late 1990s, offered purported spiritual guidance via a pay-per-minute telephone hotline.

A federal district court in New York granted A&E Television Networks’ motion to dismiss a lawsuit claiming federal copyright and trademark infringement claims, and state law claims, brought by Psychic Readers Network, Inc. (PRN) over the biopic Miss Cleo: Her Rise and Fall. “Miss Cleo” was a television psychic who, in the late 1990s, offered purported spiritual guidance via a pay-per-minute telephone hotline. PRN failed to show where three copyrighted items, tarot cards, a book, and a videocassette, appeared in the biopic for purposes of the copyright claim and lacked standing on the trademark claim. The state claims were also dismissed without prejudice (Psychic Readers Network, Inc. v. A&E Television Networks, LLC, No. 1:24-cv-08155-DEH (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 3, 2025)).

PRN began offering psychic readings over the telephone in the 1990s. In the later 1990s, PRN selected one of its telephone “psychic advisors” to serve as its spokesperson. That spokesperson performed her duties as “Miss Cleo” and purported to use tarot cards to predict callers’ futures. PRN argued that it created the Miss Cleo persona that became famous based on PRN’s extensive advertising efforts. PRN filed suit after A&E Television Network produced and began distributing the film Miss Cleo: Her Rise and Fall. According to the complaint, the film aired on A&E’s Lifetime Network on or about August 10, 2024, and A&E is also making the film available for rent or purchase from outlets that include Amazon Prime.

Copyright claims. In its lawsuit, PRN claimed ownership of the Miss Cleo character and associated media, including commercials, tarot decks, and promotional materials. However, only three works had been copyrighted at the time of the lawsuit: tarot cards, a book, and a videocassette. As a result, the court limited its analysis to those three items. The court found, “PRN’s Complaint—which does not so much as even mention if, when, and where the three copyrighted works appear in the allegedly infringing biopic—cannot stand.” The court found that PRN had not adequately pled “by what acts during what time the defendant infringed the[se] copyright[s]” and dismissed the copyright infringement claim.

Trademark claims. PRN’s trademark infringement claim under Section 32(1) of the Lanham Act was dismissed for lack of standing. At the time the suit was filed, PRN had only applied for registration of the “Miss Cleo” mark. Although the mark was eventually registered with the USPTO on January 7, 2025, the court noted that standing must be assessed at the time of filing of the lawsuit and dismissed the claim for lack of standing.

State law claims. The court stated that since it held that dismissal was warranted for PRN’s federal claims, it declined to exercise jurisdiction over PRN’s state law claims and dismissed those claims without prejudice.

The Case is No. 1:24-cv-08155-DEH.

Judge: Ho, D.

Attorneys: Joel Robert Dichter (Dichter Law LLC) for Psychic Readers Network, Inc. Scott Jonathan Sholder (Cowan Debaets Abrahams & Sheppard LLP) for A&E Television Networks, LLC.

Companies: Psychic Readers Network, Inc.; A&E Television Networks, LLC

Cases: Copyright Trademark NewYorkNews