An Appeal About Nothing: Second Circuit Upholds Summary Judgment Dismissing Copyright and Trademark Lawsuit Against Seinfeld And His Wife

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals today upheld a trial court's decision granting summary judgment to comedian Jerry Seinfeld, his wife Jessica Seinfeld and the companies Publishers, Inc., and Departure Productions, LLC. The case concerned their cookbook, Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets To Get Your Kids Eating (Deceptively Delicious).

The appeal concerned Missy Chase Lapine and The Sneaky Chef, Inc.'s lawsuit against them, which included claims for copyright infringement, trademark infringement and trademark dilution based on the alleged similarities between Deceptively Delicious and Lapine's own cookbook, The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids’ Favorite Meals (The Sneaky Chef).

The appellate court found that the two cookbooks were not substantially similar and that the copyright infringement claims could not proceed as a matter of law. The trademark infringement and dilution claims were also unwarranted because the marks were "so dissimilar that no reasonable jury could find likely confusion," which was required for the lawsuit to proceed.

Ms. Lapine alleged that HarperCollins first rejected her proposal for a book about hiding vegetables in children’s food, but later published a cookbook on that very subject by Jessica Seinfeld.

This decision does not dispose of the entire dispute between the parties. Ms. Laipine is continuing to persue claims against Jerry Seinfeld based on comments he made about her on The Late Show With David Letterman.

The summary order is available on the Second Circuit's website.