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Loeb & Loeb secured a complete dismissal with prejudice of copyright infringement, trade dress and unfair competition claims brought against World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), TKO Group Holdings, and 2K Games and its affiliates.
The case involved novel claims by an independent wrestling producer and promoter who alleged that a coordinated posing sequence he developed for his WCWA wrestling faction was copied by WWE's "Bloodline" wrestlers in live performances and in the WWE 2K video game series. The plaintiff claimed copyright protection over the sequence—which allegedly featured hierarchical formations, staggered arm raises, designated pauses and specific camera angles—and also asserted trade dress rights in the routine as a source identifier for his promotion.
On Sept. 10, 2026, U.S. District Judge David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas granted Loeb's motion to dismiss in full and dismissed the case with prejudice. The court found that the plaintiff failed to allege the defendants ever had an opportunity to view the posing sequence; that the parties' sequences were not substantially similar given numerous differences in timing, staging and presentation; and that the sequence's narrative function within a wrestling storyline precluded protection as trade dress. The court also denied leave to amend, finding that the deficiencies could not be cured by further pleading.
The Loeb team that represented WWE, TKO, and 2K Games and its affiliates in the matter was led by Litigation partner Tal Dickstein, Brian Heidelberger, chair of the firm's Advertising, Marketing & Promotions practice and included senior counsel Sarah Levitan Perry and associate Edward Delman.
The case involved novel claims by an independent wrestling producer and promoter who alleged that a coordinated posing sequence he developed for his WCWA wrestling faction was copied by WWE's "Bloodline" wrestlers in live performances and in the WWE 2K video game series. The plaintiff claimed copyright protection over the sequence—which allegedly featured hierarchical formations, staggered arm raises, designated pauses and specific camera angles—and also asserted trade dress rights in the routine as a source identifier for his promotion.
On Sept. 10, 2026, U.S. District Judge David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas granted Loeb's motion to dismiss in full and dismissed the case with prejudice. The court found that the plaintiff failed to allege the defendants ever had an opportunity to view the posing sequence; that the parties' sequences were not substantially similar given numerous differences in timing, staging and presentation; and that the sequence's narrative function within a wrestling storyline precluded protection as trade dress. The court also denied leave to amend, finding that the deficiencies could not be cured by further pleading.
The Loeb team that represented WWE, TKO, and 2K Games and its affiliates in the matter was led by Litigation partner Tal Dickstein, Brian Heidelberger, chair of the firm's Advertising, Marketing & Promotions practice and included senior counsel Sarah Levitan Perry and associate Edward Delman.
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