Akbaly artist Nahiely de Jesus Velazquez Gonzalez sues Schedule A sellers over Otomi and Talavera style designs

The complaint

Velazquez Gonzalez v. Schedule A Defendants, No. 2:26-cv-02296 (W.D. Pa.), was filed October 22, 2026, and Judge Christy Criswell Wiegand is presiding. The complaint describes the plaintiff as a designer, illustrator, and art director from Mexico, now based in Seattle, Washington, who sells her work under the Akbaly brand. The defendants are the individuals, partnerships, and unincorporated associations identified on Schedule A, which the complaint says is the subject of a motion to file under seal. The complaint is signed by Stanley D. Ference III of Ference & Associates LLC in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and demands a jury. The same day, the plaintiff moved for a temporary restraining order (ECF No. 4) and for leave to file documents under seal (ECF No. 5). The docket lists two orders entered October 26, 2026 (ECF Nos. 8 and 10); their text is not on the public docket.

The works

The complaint's chart pairs six works, Otomi embroidery style and Talavera tile style designs, with images of the defendants' products, under four registrations: VA 2-494-797, VA 2-494-973, VA 2-501-237, and VA 2-501-238. The Copyright Office records show each registration effective March 10, 2026, and list first publication of the registered works in 2020 or earlier. The complaint alleges, upon information and belief, that the copyrights have effective dates that predate the defendants' acts of infringement.

What it alleges

The complaint alleges that the defendants, who it says, upon information and belief, reside in China or other foreign jurisdictions, operate storefronts on Amazon, Walmart, and Temu that display her works and offer and sell products bearing them without authorization. Count One alleges willful copyright infringement of her exclusive rights of reproduction and distribution. Count Two alleges, upon information and belief, that the defendants agreed to a scheme to market and sell products bearing her designs, and pleads civil conspiracy.

Relief sought

The plaintiff asks for temporary, preliminary, and permanent injunctions; an order directing online marketplaces, social media platforms, search engines, and web hosts to disable the defendants' accounts and advertisements and remove links to the Schedule A accounts from search results; actual or statutory damages under 17 U.S.C. 504, at her election; attorneys' fees and costs; and punitive damages.