26-cv-12237 | Greeting Card Publisher Avanti Press Sues on Copyright: TRO Entered, Extension Sought

Case overview

• Plaintiff: Avanti Press, Inc. (a U.S. greeting card publisher)
• Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Judge Charles P. Kocoras
• Cause: Copyright infringement (17 U.S.C. § 101; nature of suit 820 Copyright)
• Filed: October 6, 2026, with a 22-page Exhibit 1
• Plaintiff’s counsel: Keith A. Vogt, Yanling Jiang, Yi Bu, Monica Rita Martin, Christopher Romero, Cameron Eugene McIntyre, Adam Grodman
• Status:
  • October 8: the court granted the ex parte TRO motion and entered the TRO
  • The court ordered plaintiff’s counsel to add all Schedule A defendant names to the docket within three business days
  • October 16: the plaintiff moved to extend the TRO

What this means

TROs are short-lived; an extension request usually buys time before a preliminary injunction motion. Because the court ordered defendant names added to the docket, sellers can check the record to see whether they are named.

Seller checklist

Copyright cases usually involve someone else’s photos, illustrations, or text designs used as product prints or listing images. We suggest:

• Check the source of artwork on greeting cards, posters, T-shirts, mugs, and stickers
• Don’t use photos or illustrations found online; “everywhere on the internet” does not mean free to use commercially
• Keep design files or license records as evidence

Already frozen?

If your store has been frozen in this case, keep the platform notice, any emails from plaintiff’s counsel, the affected listings, and your sales records. Hold off on replying to the plaintiff or signing anything, and have counsel review the case and your settlement or defense options promptly.

Source

CourtListener public docket: 26-cv-12237