Making Waves: Netflix Involved in Trademark Infringement Case
By Jackson Andrews; Photo Credit: Netflix
On February 20th, Pepperdine University filed a lawsuit against Netflix, Inc. and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. on the grounds that the defendants utilized Pepperdine’s trademarks without permission for Netflix’s new series, Running Point.[1] According to Pepperdine’s complaint, the trademark infringement occurred as Running Point appropriated several items unique to the university including Pepperdine’s trademarked name (the Waves), the school’s color palette, and the number 37, reflecting the year of Pepperdine’s founding.[2] The lawsuit goes on to detail that Running Point’s portrayal of the “Waves” team will falsely suggest an affiliation or association with Pepperdine University and will therefore lead to consumer confusion.[3]
Importantly, Pepperdine argues that Netflix’s and Warner’s infringement here is particularly egregious given the contrast between Pepperdine’s moral and religious values and those depicted in the new program.[4] According to Pepperdine’s mission statement, the university is “committed to the highest standards of academic excellence and Christian values, where students are strengthened for lives of purpose, service, and leadership.”[5] In juxtaposition to this mission, Running Point follows the story of a former party girl who is forced take on the role of managing the Waves, a professional basketball team owned by her family in Los Angeles.[6] Accordingly, the series use of explicit content, substance use, profanity, and nudity has raised concerns for Pepperdine as the university feels that these themes run afoul of Pepperdine’s Christian values and work to tarnish the school’s reputation.[7] While Pepperdine has repeatedly attempted to communicate to Netflix and Warner Bros. that it does not want to be affiliated in any way with the new television program, neither platform took any remedial action.[8] As a result, Pepperdine filed the aforementioned suit, which will be worth monitoring moving forward.
This is not the first time that Netflix has been sued for trademark infringement.[9] In 2019, Netflix released Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, an interactive film where viewers are asked to make choices throughout the program that ultimately influenced the plot of the movie.[10] In many ways, the interactive format of the program reflected the format of the popular “Choose Your Own Adventure” books published in the 1970s by Bantam Books.[11] As a result of this similarity, Chooseco, LLC, the publisher that owns the “Choose Your Own Adventure” trademark, brought suit against Netflix for trademark infringement.[12] While Netflix filed a motion to dismiss the action, the District Court for the District of Vermont denied the motion on the grounds that “The physical characteristics and context of the use demonstrate that it is at least plausible Netflix used the term to attract public attention by associating the film with Chooseco’s book series.”[13] However, the parties eventually settled rather than going to trial.[14] Nevertheless, given Netflix’s previous issues with possible trademark infringement, Pepperdine’s new suit against the streaming platform will be intriguing to follow.
Jackson Andrews is a 2L at Vanderbilt Law School. He plans on returning to Seattle to practice law after graduation.
[1] Pepperdine University Files Lawsuit Against Netflix, Warner Bros. for Trademark Infringement, Pepperdine Univ. (Feb. 20, 2025), https://www.pepperdine.edu/press-room/news-releases/2025-netflix-lawsuit.htm.
[2] Complaint at 2, Pepperdine Univ. v. Netflix Inc., No. 25-1429 (C.D. Cal. Feb. 20, 2025).
[3] Id. at 18.
[4] Id. at 3.
[5] Mission, Vision, and Affirmation Statement, Pepperdine Univ., https://www.pepperdine.edu/about/our-story/mission-vision/.
[6] Shivani Gonzalez, ‘Running Point,’ Plus 5 Things to Watch on TV This Week, N.Y. Times (Feb. 24, 2025), https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/23/arts/television/running-point-plus-5-things-to-watch-on-tv-this-week.html?login=email&auth=login-email.
[7] Pepperdine University Files Lawsuit, supra note 1.
[8] Id.
[9] Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi, Adventure Series Book Publisher Sues Netflix Over Trademark, NPR (Jan. 24, 2019), https://www.npr.org/2019/01/24/688110253/adventure-series-book-publisher-sues-netflix-over-trademark#:~:text=Adventure%20Series%20Book%20Publisher%20Sues%20Netflix%20Over%20Trademark%20Netflix’s%20Black,suing%20Netflix%20for%20trademark%20infringement.
[10] Brandon Milostan, Bye Bye Back End, Hello Streaming, 42 L.A. Law. 44, 49 (Jan. 24, 2019).
[11] Id.
[12] Id.
[13] Chooseco LLC v. Netflix, Inc., 439 F.Supp.3d 308, 321 (D. Vt. Feb. 11, 2020).
[14] Eriq Gardner, Netflix Chooses Settlement to End Trademark Lawsuit Over ‘Black Mirror’, The Hollywood Rep. (Nov. 7, 2020), https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/netflix-chooses-settlement-to-end-trademark-lawsuit-over-black-mirror-4096733/.