A professional artist has taken a bold step to protect her creative work by filing a lawsuit against numerous online entities accused of infringing on her copyrights. Cindy Searles, a California-based artist known for her ceramics and folk art-themed illustrations, filed the complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on December 4, 2024. The defendants in this case are various partnerships and unincorporated associations operating under aliases and through internet stores identified in Schedule A of the filing.
Searles's complaint highlights an alarming issue faced by many artists in the digital age: rampant online copyright infringement. She accuses these defendants of selling unauthorized products that incorporate or are derived from her copyrighted works, which she holds under United States Copyright Registration No(s). VA 2-421-192. The complaint alleges that these defendants operate interactive commercial internet stores targeting U.S. consumers, including those in Illinois, thereby engaging in interstate commerce and causing significant harm to Searles's business and reputation.
According to the filing, Searles claims that these defendants have created a coordinated scheme to profit illegally from her creative content by designing their online stores to appear as legitimate sellers of her products. The plaintiff asserts that this illegal operation involves numerous e-commerce sites where infringing products are sold at prices lower than original items, further damaging her brand's value and market position. "Defendants attempt to avoid liability by going to great lengths to conceal both their identities and the full scope and interworking of their illegal operation," states the complaint.
The legal action seeks several forms of relief from the court. Searles requests injunctive relief to prevent further infringement of her copyrights, destruction of all unauthorized copies, and disabling of defendant accounts on various platforms like Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google, Bing, Yahoo, among others. Additionally, she seeks monetary damages for willful infringement under 17 U.S.C. §504 and attorneys' fees pursuant to 17 U.S.C. §505.
Representing Cindy Searles is attorney David Gulbransen from Oak Park, Illinois. The case is assigned Case No. 24-cv-12447 but does not list a specific judge or magistrate yet as it is still early in proceedings.