A U.S. District Court federal judge has reinstated summary judgment in favor of Frazetta Properties, LLC, ruling that Jesse David Spurlock and Vanguard Productions misled the Court using a forged document to justify unauthorized use of Frank Frazetta’s copyrighted artwork.
The ruling comes from an ongoing case filed in 2022, in which Vanguard Productions published a book featuring Franzetta’s cover art without a license. The comic publisher infringed on the copyright of two visual works from “Death Dealer” by artist Frank Frazetta.
The images used in “Frazetta Book Cover Art” weren’t covered by a prior license and were not fair use. Spurlock defended the release of the book by submitting a document he falsely claimed had been signed by members of the Frazetta family. Forensic analysis later confirmed the Plaintiffs never signed the document.
“It turns out, this document was never signed by the Plaintiff principals, as the defense represented. Defendant Spurlock knew this.” states the summary judgement.
In his June 2, 2025, Order, U.S. District Judge William F. Jung wrote:
“Mr. Spurlock fooled the Court (and the lawyers)… This was false, as the defense now admits in light of the forensic evidence provided.”
The Court sanctioned Spurlock, reinstated its original summary judgment ruling in favor of Frazetta Properties, and ordered him to pay the Plaintiffs’ legal fees. The ruling affirmed that Frazetta Properties owns the valid copyright to the Death Dealer II and Death Dealer V artworks, and that Spurlock’s use of those images in his 2022 publication was unauthorized and infringed upon the Estate’s rights. The Court also rejected Spurlock’s claims of fair use and prior licensing, stating that his use of the art “supplants the object of the protected work and is therefore not transformative to any meaningful extent.”
This federal case followed a 2019 state court lawsuit (Case No. 2019 CA 001718 NC), in which Spurlock sued the Frazetta family, alleging breach of contract after receiving a termination notice. At trial, the Frazetta family successfully demonstrated that Spurlock had failed to uphold his contractual obligations, including underreporting and underpaying royalties on Frazetta-related book sales. A jury ruled in favor of the Frazettas, and Spurlock later abandoned his appeal. He was also ordered to pay legal fees in that case.
“This ruling reinforces what we stand for: protecting the Frazetta name from fraud and defending the legacy of one of the greatest artists in American history—no matter what it takes.” — Joe Weber, representative of Frazetta Properties, LLC
Frazetta Properties will be filing a sworn brief outlining damages, fees, and costs incurred as a result of Spurlock’s misconduct, as ordered by the Court
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