The complaint

Rockefeller Photos, LLC v. Merced Food Center, No. 1:26-cv-07145-EGC (E.D. Cal.), was filed September 8, 2026 (12 pages). The plaintiff is Rockefeller Photos, LLC, a Delaware company based in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The defendant is Merced Food Center, a California corporation that, the complaint says, owns and operates a supermarket in Merced. The case was initially assigned directly to Magistrate Judge Erin Guy Castillo (ECF No. 2). (Compl. caption; paras. 1 to 2, 16; ECF No. 2.)

The works

The complaint says Prepared Food Photos, Inc., formerly Adlife Marketing & Communications Co., Inc., created and owns a library of food photographs, registered the photographs at issue (the Work), and in a December 12, 2024 agency agreement gave Rockefeller the exclusive right to license them and to pursue infringement claims. Exhibit A lists each photograph and its registration number, and Exhibit B attaches the registration certificates. (Compl. paras. 7 to 15, 27 to 28.)

What it alleges

The complaint alleges that on multiple dates after registration the defendant displayed or published the Work on its website, social media, or printed media to advertise its business, that it was never licensed, and, on information and belief, that it found the Work online and copied it. It says the use was first discovered in December 2024 and that the defendant was notified in writing, and it alleges willfulness, citing the defendant's alleged failure to remove the Work after multiple communications. (Compl. paras. 17 to 23, 32 to 33.)

Relief sought

Rockefeller asks for declarations that the defendant infringed and that the infringement was willful, actual damages and profits or, at its election, statutory damages for each photograph, costs and attorneys' fees under 17 U.S.C. 505, interest, and a permanent injunction. (Compl. Prayer a to g.)

Docket activity

The court set an initial scheduling conference for December 17, 2026 before Magistrate Judge Castillo. A proof of service was filed September 21, 2026, the defendant filed an answer on October 2, 2026 that is not available for free online, and a standing order was entered October 13, 2026. (ECF Nos. 2, 7 to 9, 12.)