3 Count: Out of Birkenstock

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1: Lidl Banned From Selling Copycat Birkenstock Sandals, Dutch Court Rules

First off today, Francisco Velasquez at the BBC reports that the European supermarket Lidl chain Lidl has been banned from selling copycat Birkenstock sandals in Denmark following a ruling that the sandals are protected by copyright.

The ruling follows a December 2025 decision at the European Court of Justice that ruled products like sandals could hold copyright protection in their design if they have creative design choices and are not merely useful articles. That sent this case back to the lower court, which has now ruled in favor of Birkenstock.

Lidl now faces a fine of  €5,000 ($5,700) per day if it fails to comply. However, Lidl can appeal the decision and a similar judgment against another retailer, Scapino, is being appealed now.

2: India’s Zee escalates copyright fight against Reliance-Disney’s JioStar

Next up today, Arpan Chaturvedi at Reuters reports that, in India, Zee Entertainment has asked the Delhi High Court to hold JioStar in contempt, saying that it has continued to use the Zee’s copyright-protected work without permission.

The lawsuit pits two of the largest media companies in India against each other. Zee accuses the Reliance-Disney-owned JioStar of using content from its music division on JioStar’s programming without a license. Back in May, the court ordered JioStar to stop using the content. However, according to Zee, there have been at least six breaches of that order since then.

Now Zee is asking the court to hold JioStar in contempt. JioStar has said that the infractions were unintentional and that it had removed. a substantial portion of Zee content from their services.

3: California Requires Disclosure of AI-Generated People in Advertising

Finally today, August T. Horvath at Foley Hoag reports that California has passed a new law that will require advertisements featuring AI-generated people to disclose that they are not real people.

The law mirrors a similar one passed in New York, which went into effect earlier this year. The California law requires advertisers to disclose the use of AI not just for video, but also for audio and voiceovers. The law also doesn’t impose statutory penalties, instead, it relies on private enforcement, through litigation.

The law goes into effect on January 1, 2027.

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