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Case 2:18-cv-01150 Document 1 Filed 02/09/18 Page 1 of 28 Page ID #:1

1
Stephen M. Doniger (SBN 179314)
stephen@donigerlawfirm.com
2 Scott Alan Burroughs (SBN 235718)
3 scott@donigerlawfirm.com
Trevor W. Barrett (SBN 287174)
4 tbarrett@donigerlawfirm.com
5 Justin M. Gomes (SBN 301793)
jgomes@donigerlawfirm.com
6 DONIGER / BURROUGHS
7 603 Rose Avenue
Venice, California 90291
8 Telephone: (310) 590-1820
9
Attorneys for Plaintiff
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11 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT


12 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
13 Case No.:
JUAN MARCOS MONTES, an
14 individual, PLAINTIFF’S COMPLAINT FOR:
15 1. COPYRIGHT
Plaintiff,
INFRINGEMENT;
16
v. 2. VICARIOUS AND/OR
17 CONTRIBUTORY
COPYRIGHT
18 C3 PRESENTS, LLC, a Texas Limited INFRINGEMENT
Liability Company; LIVE NATION
19 Jury Trial Demanded
ENTERTAINMENT, INC., a Delaware
20 Corporation, individually and doing
business as “LOLLAPALOOZA, LLC”;
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THE UPRISING CREATIVE, a Delaware
22 Corporation; and DOES 1 through 10,
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Defendants.
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COMPLAINT
Case 2:18-cv-01150 Document 1 Filed 02/09/18 Page 2 of 28 Page ID #:2

1 JUAN MARCOS MONTES (“MONTES”), by and through his undersigned


2 attorneys, hereby prays to this honorable Court for relief based on the following:
3 JURISDICTION AND VENUE
4 1. This action arises under the Copyright Act of 1976, Title 17 U.S.C., §§ 101
5 et seq.
6 2. This Court has federal question jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and
7 1338 (a) and (b).
8 3. Venue in this judicial district is proper under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391(c) and
9 1400(a) in that this is the judicial district in which a substantial part of the acts and
10 omissions giving rise to the claims occurred.
11 PARTIES
12 4. Plaintiff MONTES is an individual artist, creating art under the name “Juan
13 Marco,” residing in Los Angeles, California.
14 5. Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that Defendant C3
15 PRESENTS, LLC (“C3”) is a limited liability company organized and existing under
16 the laws of the State of Texas, and is doing business in California and this District.
17 6. Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that LIVE NATION
18 ENTERTAINMENT, INC., individually and doing business as “LOLLAPALOOZA,

19 LLC” (collectively “LIVE NATION”) is a corporation organized and existing under

20
the laws of the State of Delaware, and is doing business in California and this
District.
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7. Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that THE UPRISING
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CREATIVE, (“UPRISING”) is a corporation organized and existing under the laws
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of the State of Delaware, and is doing business in California and this District.
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8. Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that some of
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Defendants Does 1 through 3, inclusive, are manufacturers and/or vendors of
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product, which Doe Defendants have manufactured and/or supplied and are
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COMPLAINT
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1 manufacturing and/or supplying garments comprised of product printed with


2 Plaintiff’s copyrighted artwork (as hereinafter defined) without Plaintiff’s
3 knowledge or consent or have contributed to said infringement. The true names,
4 whether corporate, individual or otherwise of Defendants Does 1-3, inclusive, are
5 presently unknown to Plaintiff, which therefore sues said Defendants by such
6 fictitious names and will seek leave to amend this complaint to show their true
7 names and capacities when same have been ascertained.
8 9. Defendants Does 4 through 10, inclusive, are other parties not yet identified
9 who have infringed Plaintiff’s copyrights, have contributed to the infringement of
10 Plaintiff’s copyrights, or have engaged in one or more of the wrongful practices
11 alleged herein. The true names, whether corporate, individual or otherwise, of
12 Defendants 4 through 10, inclusive, are presently unknown to Plaintiff, which
13 therefore sues said Defendants by such fictitious names, and will seek leave to
14 amend this Complaint to show their true names and capacities when same have been
15 ascertained.
16 10.Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that at all times
17 relevant hereto each of the Defendants was the agent, affiliate, officer, director,
18 manager, principal, alter-ego, and/or employee of the remaining Defendants and was
19 at all times acting within the scope of such agency, affiliation, alter-ego relationship
20 and/or employment; and actively participated in or subsequently ratified and
21 adopted, or both, each and all of the acts or conduct alleged, with full knowledge of
22 all the facts and circumstances, including, but not limited to, full knowledge of each
23 and every violation of Plaintiff’s rights and the damages to Plaintiff proximately
24 caused thereby.
25 CLAIMS RELATED TO PLAINTIFF’S ARTWORK
26 11. Prior to the conduct complained of herein, Plaintiff composed a number of
27 pieces of artwork (the “Subject Works”). These works were original independent
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COMPLAINT
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1 creations of Plaintiff, and are owned exclusively by Plaintiff. Non-exclusive


2 exemplars of the Subject Works are depicted below:
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4 SUBJECT WORKS:
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11 12. Plaintiff applied to register the Subject Works with the U.S. Copyright
12 Office before this lawsuit was filed.
13 13. Plaintiff entered into a non-exclusive, limited license agreement with C3
14 through intermediary, UPRISING, allowing C3 to use certain of the Subject Works
15 in connection with the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago, Illinois and Santiago,
16 Chile for a period of three years.
17 14. Plaintiff’s investigation revealed that Defendants and each of them
18 continued to use the Subject Works outside of the scope, and beyond the temporal
19 period, of the license without Plaintiff’s authorization.
20 15. Plaintiff’s investigation further revealed that Defendants and each of them
21 used the Subject Works in connection with Lollapalooza events outside of the United
22 States and Chile without Plaintiff’s authorization.
23 16. Plaintiff’s investigation further revealed that Defendants and each of them
24 sub-licensed to certain third parties the use of certain of the Subject Works without
25 Plaintiff’s authorization.
26 17. Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that, without
27 Plaintiff’s authorization, C3, LIVE NATION, UPRISING, and certain Doe
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COMPLAINT
Case 2:18-cv-01150 Document 1 Filed 02/09/18 Page 13 of 28 Page ID #:13

1 defendants, created, sold, manufactured, caused to be manufactured, imported and/or


2 distributed products, marketing materials, advertisements, and installations featuring
3 art that is identical to or substantially similar to the Subject Works (“Infringing
4 Uses”) beyond the scope of the limited license provided to C3. Below are
5 comparisons of certain Subject Works and non-exclusive exemplars of Infringing
6 Uses exceeding the three year term of the limited license provided to C3.
7

8 SUBJECT WORKS: INFRINGING USES:


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24 18. Below are comparisons of certain Subject Works and non-exclusive


25 exemplars of Infringing Uses outside of the United States and Chile.
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COMPLAINT
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1 SUBJECT WORKS: INFRINGING USES:


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COMPLAINT
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13 19.Below are comparisons of certain Subject Works and non-exclusive


14 exemplars of Infringing Uses created or exploited under improper purported sub-
15 licenses between C3 or LIVE NATION and Doe Defendants or third parties.
16 SUBJECT WORKS: INFRINGING USES:
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10 20.The above comparisons make apparent that the elements, composition,


11 colors, arrangement, layout, rendering, and appearance of the artworks at issue are
12 identical, strikingly similar, or at least substantially similar.
13 FIRST CLAIM FOR RELIEF
14 (For Copyright Infringement – Against All Defendants, and Each)
15 21. Plaintiff repeats, realleges, and incorporates herein by reference as though
16 fully set forth, the allegations contained in the preceding paragraphs of this
17 Complaint.
18 22. Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that Defendants, and
19 each of them, had access to the Subject Works, including, without limitation,
20 through (a) access to Plaintiff’s library of original art; (b) access to copies of the
21 Subject Works through third-parties, such as The Uprising Collective; and (c) access
22 to the Subject Works directly from Plaintiff.
23 23. Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that Defendants, and
24 each of them, infringed Plaintiff’s copyrights by creating, making, and/or developing
25 directly infringing and/or derivative works from the Subject Works beyond the scope
26 of any license from Plaintiff, and by producing, distributing and/or selling products,
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COMPLAINT
Case 2:18-cv-01150 Document 1 Filed 02/09/18 Page 25 of 28 Page ID #:25

1 marketing materials, and installations that infringe the Subject Works in connection
2 with Lollapalooza music festivals on-site and through on-line websites.
3 24. Due to Defendants’ acts of infringement, Plaintiff has suffered substantial
4 damages to his business in an amount to be established at trial.
5 25. Due to Defendants’ acts of infringement, Plaintiff has suffered general and
6 special damages in an amount to be established at trial.
7 26. Due to Defendants’ acts of copyright infringement as alleged herein,
8 Defendants, and each of them, have obtained direct and indirect profits they would
9 not otherwise have realized but for their infringement of the Subject Works. As such,
10 Plaintiff is entitled to disgorgement of Defendant’s profits directly and indirectly
11 attributable to Defendant’s infringement of the Subject Works in an amount to be
12 established at trial.
13 27. Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that Defendants, and
14 each of them, have committed acts of copyright infringement, as alleged above,
15 which were willful, intentional and malicious, which further subjects Defendants,
16 and each of them, to liability for statutory damages under Section 504(c)(2) of the
17 Copyright Act in the sum of up to one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000.00)
18 per infringement. Within the time permitted by law, Plaintiff will make its election
19 between actual damages and statutory damages.
20 SECOND CLAIM FOR RELIEF
21 (For Vicarious and/or Contributory Copyright Infringement - Against All
22 Defendants)
23 28. Plaintiff repeats, realleges, and incorporates herein by reference as though
24 fully set forth, the allegations contained in the preceding paragraphs of this
25 Complaint.
26 29. Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that Defendants
27 knowingly induced, participated in, aided and abetted in and profited from the illegal
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COMPLAINT
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1 reproduction and/or subsequent sales of product, marketing materials, and


2 installations featuring the Subject Works and derivative works thereof as alleged
3 herein.
4 30. Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that Defendants, and
5 each of them, are vicariously liable for the infringement alleged herein because they
6 had the right and ability to supervise the infringing conduct – the copying of
7 Plaintiff’s artwork – and because they had a direct financial interest in the sales and
8 distribution of the Infringing Uses.
9 31. By reason of the Defendants’, and each of their, acts of contributory and
10 vicarious infringement as alleged above, Plaintiff has suffered and will continue to
11 suffer substantial damages to its business in an amount to be established at trial, as
12 well as additional general and special damages in an amount to be established at
13 trial.
14 32. Due to Defendants’, and each of their acts of copyright infringement as
15 alleged herein, Defendants, and each of them, have obtained direct and indirect
16 profits they would not otherwise have realized but for their infringement of
17 Plaintiff’s rights in the Subject Works. As such, Plaintiff is entitled to disgorgement
18 of Defendants’ profits directly and indirectly attributable to Defendants’
19 infringement of the Subject Works, in an amount to be established at trial.
20 33. Plaintiff is informed and believes and thereon alleges that Defendants, and
21 each of them, have committed acts of copyright infringement, as alleged above,
22 which were willful, intentional and malicious, which further subjects Defendants,
23 and each of them, to liability for statutory damages under Section 504(c)(2) of the
24 Copyright Act in the sum of up to one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000.00)
25 per infringement. Within the time permitted by law, Plaintiff will make its election
26 between actual damages and statutory damages.
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COMPLAINT
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1 PRAYER FOR RELIEF


2 Wherefore, Plaintiff prays for judgment as follows:
3 Against All Defendants
4 With Respect to Each Claim for Relief
5 a. That Defendants, their agents and employees be enjoined from
6 infringing Plaintiff’s copyrights in any manner, specifically those for the
7 Subject Works;
8 b. That Plaintiff be awarded all profits of Defendants plus all losses of
9 Plaintiff, plus any other monetary advantage gained by the Defendants
10 through their infringement, the exact sum to be proven at the time of
11 trial, or, if elected before final judgment, statutory damages as available
12 under the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 101, et seq.;
13 c. That Defendants, and each of them, account to Plaintiff for their profits
14 and any damages sustained by Plaintiff arising from the foregoing acts
15 of infringement;
16 d. That Plaintiff be awarded costs, and any other damages available, per 17
17 USC § 505.
18 e. That Plaintiff be awarded pre-judgment interest as allowed by law;
19 f. That Plaintiff be awarded the costs of this action; and
20 g. That Plaintiff be awarded such further legal and equitable relief as the
21 Court deems proper.
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COMPLAINT
Case 2:18-cv-01150 Document 1 Filed 02/09/18 Page 28 of 28 Page ID #:28

1 PLAINTIFF DEMANDS A JURY TRIAL ON ALL ISSUES SO TRIABLE


2 PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 38 AND THE 7TH AMENDMENT TO THE
3 UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION.
4 Respectfully submitted,
5

6
Dated: February 9, 2018 By: /s/ Scott Alan Burroughs
Scott Alan Burroughs, Esq.
7 Trevor W. Barrett, Esq.
8 Justin M. Gomes, Esq.
DONIGER / BURROUGHS
9 Attorneys for Plaintiff
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