All articles tagged with #cease and desist
Nintendo reportedly sent Cody Rhodes a polite cease-and-desist after he briefly wore boots featuring The Legend of Zelda's Triforce in 2013, with Rhodes saying Nintendo asked him to remove the logo even though he admired Zelda and felt the Triforce fit his character; he complied, and Nintendo's approach was described as kind.
Stormforge, a private World of Warcraft server project, will cease all operations by May 14, 2026 after a cease-and-desist from Blizzard; realms remain online until closure but no new accounts can be created. With Blizzard winning a court case against Turtle WoW, the crackdown on fan-run servers appears to continue, pushing players toward official WoW Classic options. Stormforge says it will pivot to its own non-Blizzard projects in the future.
Rep. Eric Swalwell has filed a cease-and-desist with FBI Director Kash Patel, urging him not to release files about Swalwell’s past ties to Christine Fang, a suspected Chinese intelligence operative. Swalwell, a leading candidate for California governor, argues that releasing the files would smear him and violate his First Amendment rights and DOJ rules, potentially exposing the FBI to liability. The Washington Post reported Patel’s efforts to release the decade-old file; Swalwell denies any wrongdoing and says he assisted in the FBI investigation. The FBI has not commented.
Lawyers for Rep. Eric Swalwell sent a cease-and-desist to the FBI, seeking to block the release of files from a decade-old investigation into a Chinese fund-raiser linked to the congressman, arguing disclosures would violate his First Amendment rights, longstanding DOJ rules on investigations used to influence elections, and the Privacy Act; the Trump administration had pushed to collect documents from the case, but no charges were brought.
Global Situation Room sent a cease-and-desist to Polymarket over its Washington bar pop-up, arguing that naming it ‘The Situation Room’ infringes its trademark and could confuse consumers; Polymarket’s bar, billed as the world’s first to monitor the situation with live feeds and trading screens, is set to open at an undisclosed DC location, with Polymarket not yet commenting on the letter.
Sony’s shutdown of Bluepoint Games has fans frustrated as the studio behind Demon's Souls and Shadow of the Colossus remakes exits, fueling talk of a Bloodborne remake while Sony simultaneously issues a cease-and-desist to a fan project for Bloodborne, suggesting IP enforcement even amid uncertainty about future Bloodborne plans.
Sony Pictures Entertainment has issued a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance alleging that Seedance 2.0 infringes SPE’s copyrighted works and lacks adequate guardrails, joining earlier letters from Disney, Paramount, Warner Bros. and Netflix; SPE demands cessation of infringing outputs and removal of SPE content from Seedance 2.0’s training data and datasets, accusing ByteDance of willful infringement.
ByteDance says it will strengthen safeguards on Seedance 2.0 after Hollywood groups and studios—including the MPA and Disney—issued cease-and-desist warnings over alleged widespread copyright infringement by the AI video tool; the dispute highlights growing tensions between AI developers and entertainment IP owners over the unauthorized use of copyrighted characters and likenesses, with Disney and Paramount Skydance among those pressuring ByteDance.
Jeremy Renner has denied harassment allegations made by filmmaker Yi Zhou, claiming their prior encounter was consensual and that Zhou sent him explicit messages. Both have filed cease and desist letters against each other amid ongoing disputes and accusations of misconduct, highlighting issues of misconduct and harassment in Hollywood.
Jeremy Renner denies misconduct allegations made by filmmaker Yi Zhou, who accuses him of sending unsolicited explicit images and making threats. Renner's representatives dismiss the claims as false, while Zhou seeks transparency and has posted messages and photos supporting her claims. Renner previously addressed past allegations in a 2025 interview, emphasizing the emotional impact of false accusations.
The Motion Picture Association has issued a cease and desist order to Meta, demanding it stop using the 'PG-13' rating to describe content on Instagram's teen accounts, claiming Meta's use is misleading and undermines the trust in the official rating system. Meta defends its use, stating it qualifies as fair use and does not claim the content is officially rated PG-13.
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) sent a cease-and-desist letter to Meta, criticizing its use of the PG-13 rating to describe Instagram's new teen account settings, claiming it is false, misleading, and infringes on the MPA's trademark. Meta responded that it never claimed the accounts were officially PG-13 rated, but simply aligned its content moderation with PG-13 standards. The dispute highlights concerns over the accuracy and implications of Meta's content labeling for teens.
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) has sent a cease and desist letter to Meta Platforms Inc., criticizing Instagram's use of the PG-13 rating for teen content, claiming it is false, misleading, and exploits the trust in the MPA's trademarked rating system. The MPA argues that Instagram's automated content restrictions do not follow the official PG-13 process and could undermine the integrity of the rating system.
Amazon has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Perplexity AI, demanding it stop allowing its AI browser agent, Comet, from making online purchases on users' behalf, citing violations of terms of service, privacy issues, and negative impacts on the shopping experience. The dispute highlights ongoing tensions over AI agents' roles in e-commerce and user rights, with Amazon developing its own AI shopping tools and exploring partnerships with third-party AI developers.
The Trump administration is cracking down on misleading pharmaceutical ads by sending cease-and-desist letters to drug companies, increasing transparency requirements, and closing a loophole that allowed companies to hide safety information, aiming to reduce deceptive practices and improve public trust in drug advertising.