Anatomy of a Copyright Trial:
Stories and Lessons from the Moonbug v. Babybus Copyright Litigation
Copyright cases do not make it to a jury very often. Recently, however, Moonbug Entertainment – owner of the wildly popular kids’ animated show CoComelon – succeeded in presenting its claims to a jury for willful infringement and misrepresentation under Section 512(f) of the DMCA against Chinese rival Babybus Network Technology Co., in the Northern District of California, Case No. 3:21-cv-06536-EMC (Chen, J). At the conclusion of the four-week trial, the jury returned a verdict in Moonbug’s favor, finding that Babybus had willfully infringed 39 of Moonbug’s registered copyrights and awarding Moonbug $23.4 million.
This case touched on many of the key issues a copyright litigator should know, including preemption and anti-SLAPP pitfalls, the importance of carefully investigating the factual and legal bases for statements made in DMCA takedown requests and counternotices, the scope of copyright protection for animated characters, the ability to obtain (or defeat) motions for summary judgment on copyright claims in the Ninth Circuit, and much more.
Come join us for a lively and frank discussion with the attorneys who represented Moonbug in this matter, who will share their experience in litigating this case, including lessons learned.
Ryan Tyz is a trial lawyer and the founder of Tyz Law Group. He litigates high-stakes intellectual property and business disputes for technology companies and entrepreneurs. Ryan represents clients in the digital entertainment, software, cybersecurity and cloud computing industries with a focus on copyright, patent, trade secret, trademark, consumer class action, business and antitrust litigation. Ryan consistently is ranked as one of the Top Intellectual Property Lawyers in California by the Daily Journal (2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023), and was named an Elite Boutique Trailblazer by the National Law Journal (2020).
Clients turn to Ryan for his tenacious advocacy, strong ability to grasp the facts and law, and strategic vision for achieving their objectives. Among Ryan’s recent successes, he was the lead trial lawyer that helped firm client Moonbug Entertainment secure a multi-million dollar jury verdict of willful copyright infringement and violation of Section 512(f) of the DMCA based on the making of knowingly false statements to YouTube in a DMCA counter-notification against Chinese rival Babybus over its knockoff of Moonbug’s wildly successful kids’ television show CoComelon.
Jennifer Kelly has over 25 years of experience representing clients in the technology and entertainment sectors, with a particular focus on helping content creators protect and enforce their intellectual property rights. Since joining Tyz Law, Jennifer has concentrated her practice on providing strategic advice to her clients on matters within her substantive and industry expertise – with a keen focus on mitigating risk. In addition to her role as Strategist, as of 2023 Jennifer has stepped into the role of Tyz Law’s Chief Revenue Officer.
Jennifer’s substantive expertise includes intellectual property (particularly in the area of copyright), right of publicity, advertising, unfair competition and defense of consumer class actions. Her industry expertise is centered around the games industry, in which she has been recognized by The Recorder as the “go-to lawyer in ‘game cloning’ cases.” Jennifer has received many accolades for her work, having been named by The Daily Journal as one of the "Top Intellectual Property Attorneys" in California in back-to-back years as well as one of California’s “Top Entertainment Lawyers.” The Legal 500 has recognized Jennifer as a leading copyright attorney, and she has made the San Francisco Business Times’ Most Influential Women in the Bay Area list three times.
Deborah Hedley is Co-Chair of Tyz Law Group’s Disputes Practice, and has over a decade of experience trying cases in state and federal courts. Deborah has extensive experience litigating complex intellectual property, trade secret, and other commercial disputes for entertainment and tech companies and other businesses. Most recently, Deborah was a key part of the team that led firm client Moonbug Entertainment to victory in its recent copyright litigation against Babybus, playing a key role in helping Moonbug tell the story of CocoMelon and its success, including shaping and presenting Moonbug’s case for damages.
