The Brand Leader sues DEKOR Lighting over continued use of website content and photographs after a terminated agreement

The complaint

The Brand Leader, Inc. v. DE-KOR by Mile High Balusters, Inc. d/b/a DEKOR Lighting, No. 6:26-cv-05186 (D.S.C.), was filed October 27, 2026. The complaint is Entry Number 1, runs 11 pages, and demands a jury. The plaintiff is The Brand Leader, Inc., a South Carolina corporation the complaint places in Greenville County, South Carolina. The defendant is DE-KOR by Mile High Balusters, Inc. d/b/a DEKOR Lighting, which the complaint alleges, on information and belief, is a Colorado corporation based in Denver, Colorado. Jurisdiction is pleaded under 28 U.S.C. 1331 and 1338(a); venue under 28 U.S.C. 1391 and 1400(a).

What the complaint alleges

Brand Leader alleges that under a now-terminated agreement it migrated DEKOR's website from WordPress to Shopify, work the parties agreed was worth at least $125,000, and created original photographs, marketing materials, webpage designs, website content, and related creative assets, including portions of the Shopify site such as an OEM webpage and product-related content still displayed on DEKOR's website. It alleges it owns those works as their author under 17 U.S.C. 201(a), that DEKOR has no license and no signed written copyright transfer, and that DEKOR continues to reproduce, display, publish, distribute, and commercially exploit the works. It alleges, on information and belief, that DEKOR uses them to promote and sell products through its website and marketing channels, and that an individual who is DEKOR's owner and principal decision-maker authorized and supervised the continued use after Brand Leader asserted ownership. It alleges that DEKOR continued after Brand Leader gave specific notice that the use was unauthorized. The complaint says registrations VAu 1-601-035 and VA 2-528-181 cover the images in its comparison chart, which pairs seven product photographs with screenshots of DEKOR's Infinite Flexible LED light product pages on dekorlighting.com.

The registrations

The Copyright Office record for VAu 1-601-035, titled DEKOR LED Lights, is a registration of an unpublished photograph with an effective date of September 17, 2026. The record for VA 2-528-181, titled Dekor LED Website Images, is a group registration of nine published photographs that lists September 30, 2025 as the date of first publication and September 23, 2026 as the effective date of registration. Both records describe the registered authorship as photographs.

Claims and relief requested

The complaint states one cause of action for copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C. 501. It alleges willful infringement. The prayer asks for judgment in Brand Leader's favor; a declaration that Brand Leader owns the copyrighted photographs, website content, webpage designs, Shopify materials, and other works at issue; a permanent injunction; an order removing infringing materials; actual damages and profits under 17 U.S.C. 504(b), or statutory damages under 504(c) where available; attorneys' fees and costs under section 505; prejudgment and post-judgment interest; and other relief the court deems just and proper.