Fantasy authors clash in IP battle

Bestselling fantasy author Sherrilyn Kenyon has claimed that fellow author Cassandra Clare has infringed her intellectual property rights.

Kenyon, author of the “Dark-Hunter” series, owns registered US trademarks for the terms ‘Dark-Hunter’, ‘Were-Hunter’ and ‘Dream-Hunter’.  Her first book was published in 1998.

The authors have clashed over Clare’s use of the term ‘Shadowhunter’ in her book “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones”, released in 2007 and one of a series of novels.

Clare initially used the term ‘Darkhunter’ but changed it to ‘Shadowhunter’.  However, Kenyon said the term was still too similar to her trademarks.

According to the lawsuit, Clare expanded the use of the term in her works and used it as a form of rebranding her novels.

Clare’s book has been adapted into a film, released in 2013, and a television series called “Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments”.

In addition to trademark infringement claims Kenyon has also accused Clare of copyright infringement.

The complaint said there are similar themes between the series, which concern an “elite band of warriors that must protect the human world from the unseen paranormal threat that seeks to destroy humans as they go about their lives.”

Kenyon filed the complaint at the US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee on February 5.

She is seeking damages from all profits generated from the works and an injunction against Clare preventing her from using the term ‘Shadowhunter’.