What was filed

The original complaint, Document 1, was filed on October 20, 2026, against an individual alleged to do business as BeloveGrace and belovegrace.com, and Doe 1. The case opening assignment notice of October 21, 2026, assigns the action to Judge John P. Cronan. On October 28, 2026, the plaintiffs filed a First Amended Complaint for copyright infringement, Document 8, which states that it is filed as of right under Rule 15(a)(1)(A) because no defendant had been served. The plaintiffs are Xi'an Zhuomai Information Technology Co., Ltd., a company organized in the People's Republic of China, and Zhao Rui, its general manager, whose duties, the pleading says, include photographing the jewelry Zhuomai sells. The plaintiffs demand a jury trial. (Am. Compl. paras. 5 to 10; p. 14.)

What the amended complaint alleges

Zhuomai sells jewelry online under the ITALO, NEXTEARRINGS and NEXTNECKLACE brands and photographs each product it sells. The amended complaint asserts copyright in the photographs, not in the jewelry. It alleges, on information and belief, that the defendants operate the belovegrace.com store on Shopify and copied Zhuomai's photographs onto store listings to sell competing jewelry at lower prices, in most instances keeping the photograph and replacing only the background. As an example it pairs Zhuomai's photograph of hoop earrings sold as SKU E4981 with the image on store listing GE0073, which it says shows the same arrangement, angles and highlights over a substituted dark stone surface. (Am. Compl. paras. 1 to 4, 30 to 35.)

According to the pleading, Zhuomai sent Shopify a takedown notice on August 12, 2026, identifying 58 store listings; Shopify disabled the material; on information and belief, the named defendant submitted a counter-notification on or about August 22, 2026; and Shopify restored the listings and later declined to act on a further notice because of the counter-notification. It alleges, on information and belief, that by October 28, 2026, 53 of the 58 listings no longer appeared on the store and five remained on sale. For personal jurisdiction, it relies on an October 12, 2026 order that plaintiffs' counsel placed through the store for delivery to an address in New York County. (Am. Compl. paras. 14 to 17, 36 to 44.)

Registrations

The amended complaint says each asserted work is a photograph registered in VA 2-138-232 or VA 2-122-257, and it also describes VA 2-482-854 and VA 2-482-853 (Am. Compl. paras. 24 and 27). Copyright Office records show:

  • VA 2-138-232, Italo Jewelry Ring Design Photos Group Register, a group registration of 604 published photographs dated January 7 to 10, 2017, registered December 27, 2018, author and claimant Zhao Rui.
  • VA 2-122-257, Italo Jewelry Ring Design Photos Case Number 1-6944369991, a group registration of 32 published photographs dated January 7 to 10, 2017, registered September 14, 2018, author and claimant Xi'an Zhuomai Information Technology Ltd.
  • VA 2-482-854, Nextearrings Jewelry Design Collections, 96 published photographs dated December 3 to 7, 2021, registered November 20, 2025, author and claimant Nextearrings.
  • VA 2-482-853, Nextnecklace Jewelry Design Collections, 45 published photographs dated May 3 to 5, 2020, registered November 20, 2025, author and claimant Nextnecklace.

Count and relief

The single count is copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C. 106 and 501. It alleges, on information and belief, reproduction, preparation of altered versions and public display of the works, direct liability of the named defendant and, in the alternative, vicarious and contributory liability, and willfulness. The prayer seeks a declaration of infringement, preliminary and permanent injunctions, removal of the works from the store within five days with a sworn statement of compliance, an accounting and profits and actual damages or, where available, statutory damages, costs and attorney's fees, and interest. (Am. Compl. paras. 45 to 52; pp. 13 to 14.)

The October 29 order

After the plaintiffs filed a proposed order to show cause with emergency relief, Document 9, and supporting declarations, Judge Cronan signed an order on October 29, 2026, Document 12. It directs the defendants to respond to the plaintiffs' memorandum of law in support of their motion for a temporary restraining order by November 5, 2026, and directs the plaintiffs to serve the order by October 30, 2026, by both email and overnight courier to the addresses the named defendant has identified.