Shakespeare Trust v. Kultur International Films: Willful Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights

November 27,2018:

On 19^th November 2018 Shakespeare Globe Trust (Globe), filed a Copyright and Trademark infringement suit against a former licensee Kultur International Films. Globe filed this suit at US District Court for the district of New Jersey.

According to the suit, Globe entered into a distribution agreement with Kultur in 2011, which gave Kultur exclusive rights to make and sell certain Globe works in the US and Canada. However, the license expired in May 2017, and Kultur continued to sell the works even after that.

Globe is a charity which promotes and celebrates the works of William Shakespeare and their impact on the world. They entered into a distribution agreement with Kultur, allowing them to make and sell certain works of Globe in the US and Canada. This agreement was terminated in May 2017.

According to the suit, Kultur continued to sell the works of Globe, even after the contract expired which led to infringement of Globe’s Intellectual Property (Copyright and Trademark). After expiration of the contract Globe requested Kultur to stop using their works beyond the period licensed to them, however, they refused to back down.

According to the suit, Globe owns US Copyright of a number of works including 'Shakespeare's Globe: All's Well that Ends Well' and 'Shakespeare's Globe: Twelfth Night'.

They also own two US trademarks covering class 16 and class 41, featuring the words ' Shakespeare's Globe' above a circular logo.

The suit further claims that Kultur markets the work on their website as well as third-party vendors and their Youtube channels. These activities undercut the price and value of the Globe works, which in turn is decreasing the market share of Globe.

Globe has urged the Court for an injunctive relief, statutory damages worth 150,000 dollars per infringed work. Further, Globe has also asked for profits gained through this activity and has requested Kultur to return the remaining inventory of Globe’s work.

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