Jim Cornette has lost the preliminary injunction in his lawsuit against G-Raver.
Cornette filed a lawsuit back in December 2019 over a t-shirt released with his likeness being stabbed which said “Fuck Jim Cornette.” G-Raver’s attorney had filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which was ultimately denied. In the preliminary injunction (via Alexandra J. Roberts), the court ruled that the t-shirts being sold by G-Raver aren’t actually commerce but are classed as speech.
“G-Raver sold the shirts…to critique Cornette’s views on deathmatch wrestling through parody; 1a protects this expression…because parodies are a valuable means of expression to weaken the ideas the celebrity espouses. On top of that, the shirts don’t create a likelihood of confusion and Cornette’s name may possess the distinctiveness that would make it a trademark. It’s certainly not a famous one capable of dilution. Even if it were a mark, defendants’ uses aren’t similar.”
Cornette’s claim for right of publicity also failed, with the ruling saying:
“even when the use is facially for a commercial or advertising purpose; the relevant exception here is… the shirts are expressive works & the use is through a communications medium.”
The court has deemed the shirts to be works “invented by G-Raver’s imagination” and therefore they are seen as being transformative. Cornette’s attorney has since commented, noting the preliminary injunction.
Cornette and G-Raver have not yet publicly commented on the ruling.
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