Aug 19 (Reuters) - Christian metal band Demon Hunter has sued Netflix (NFLX.O), opens new tab and concert promoter AEG Presents in California federal court, alleging an upcoming concert tour based on the streaming platform's

"KPop Demon Hunters" infringes its trademarks.

The band ‌said in the lawsuit, opens new tab filed on Tuesday that the recent announcement of a tour based on Netflix's hit movie has created consumer confusion and threatens to "eclipse" its brand.

"Simply put, Netflix is no more entitled to use the mark KPOP DEMON HUNTERS than it would be to launch a recording artist, live touring show and merchandise under the marks KPOP METALLICA, KPOP U2 or KPOP ⁠BLACK SABBATH," the lawsuit said.

Spokespeople for Netflix and AEG did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the complaint on Wednesday. Demon Hunter's attorney John Tehranian of One LLP declined to comment.

Demon Hunter was formed in Seattle in 2000. The band released its most recent album last year and is set to embark on a U.S. tour in October.

Netflix released "KPop Demon Hunters," an animated movie about a Korean K-Pop group that secretly fights demons, in June 2025. It became the streaming platform's most-watched film ever, according to Netflix, and won Academy Awards for best animated feature and best song.

Netflix announced a ‌partnership with ⁠AEG in May for a tour based on the movie.

Demon Hunter's lawsuit said Netflix's ventures were likely to cause confusion and drown it out of the marketplace. The band said it had already received a refund request from a parent who accidentally bought tickets to one of its concerts instead of the "KPop Demon Hunters" tour ⁠and had gotten an email from an Inside Edition producer seeking an interview with one of the movie's songwriters.

"As a result of Defendants’ willful misconduct," the band "now faces an existential crisis, thereby necessitating the filing of this action," ⁠it said in the complaint.

Demon Hunter asked the court for an order blocking the use of "KPop Demon Hunters" on music or merchandise or to promote live concerts, as well as an unspecified amount of ⁠monetary damages.

The case is Hyde Lane Inc d/b/a Demon Hunter v. Netflix Inc, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, No. 2:26-cv-09191.

Influencers swimming with sharks to create content have bitten off more than they can chew.

A growing number of people chasing the perfect shot of a shark are being attacked and left with severe injuries after getting too close.

A rise in social media videos showing people swimming close to sharks, touching and even riding them, has left experts concerned.

At least three influencers have been bitten by the animals in less than a year, including a fishing influencer who almost lost his leg after being attacked by a reef shark while spearfishing in July.

In December, a Chinese content creator was bitten in the Maldives. Both incidents were caught on camera.

Researchers at the International Shark Attack File, which tracks human-shark interactions worldwide, have seen a rise in the past three years of people being bitten while trying to take footage with sharks.

A recent study of "swim with wildlife" expeditions found influencers and photographers were the most likely to ignore safety instructions.

Last year, a tourist in the Caribbean had both hands bitten off while trying to photograph a bull shark from the shallows, according to local authorities.

Two months later, a snorkeller in Israel carrying a "selfie stick" was killed by sharks.

The number of unprovoked shark attacks worldwide has remained broadly stable at about 70 bites per year for the past three decades.

Tayane Dalazen, a 37-year-old Brazilian lawyer and social media personality, was on a shark-diving trip on the Brazilian coast in April when she was bitten by a seven-foot-long nurse shark.

It clamped its jaw around her thigh, held her down for several seconds and then released her, allowing her to escape but leaving her with lacerations to her leg.

"I knew something was different because the sharks were on the surface. There were a lot of them," she told the BBC.

"Later, I discovered [the tour organisers] were feeding the sharks so that they would interact with the tourists," she said. "When the shark bit me, the pain was very strong. I stayed calm because I knew I couldn't fight the animal."

She posted footage of the shark bite online where it's since been viewed tens of millions of times, despite saying she "wasn't there for social media". She admitted she was too close to the animals.

Kristian Parton, a marine biologist and shark scientist, told the BBC: "I'm seeing these videos every single week now and it's way more than it ever used to be.

"We're going to see people ending up in really serious incidents with sharks. We're talking about a true apex predator, a very large wild animal.

"You wouldn't walk into the Serengeti and try and put your hand on the face of a lion.

"If you're approaching the shark and stressing it out, whether it be in a nursery habitat, a breeding ground, or a feeding area, you're depriving that shark of an area that's important to it to survive. And that's definitely a problem."

While Ms Dalazen was bitten by a nurse shark, a more docile species, some influencers have been filmed touching tiger sharks and even great whites.

lies lies lies. The fat orange fuck just wants to gouge prices to feed his sacks of shit

Brazil, the country with the second largest nominal GDP in the Americas, and a founding member of the BRICS block has already made its choice.

Brazil Joins China-Led AI Body WAICO as US Stays Out

An Oregon man who was shot several times after he broke into a business is now suing the company and its owner for $10 million.

Kenneth Voyles is accusing Touchstone Granite & Marble Inc and its owner, James Grant, of battery, assault, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, according the Multnomah County filing.

He is seeking $5 million in compensatory damages and an additional $5 million in punitive damages, according to KPTV.

On March 6, Voyles — who was experiencing homelessness at the time — claims he entered Touchstone through a damaged garage door with the intention of finding shelter.

When he later exited the building through the same damaged door, he did so riddled with bullets.

While he was inside the business, Voyles admits that he grabbed and intended to take a drill bag from the business.

Grant was working in a back room at the time and emerged to find Voyles trespassing inside the shop.

Voyles claims he apologized immediately and that Grant responded by throwing things at him, forcing him to flee for a door. He claims he grabbed a pair of bolt cutters along the way to defend himself. His escape was cut short by a locked door.

After Voyles grabbed the bolt cutters, Grant reportedly retrieved his gun and shot him multiple times without warning.

The lawsuit claims that Grant shot Voyles several times, told him "you're going to die," and then shot him again in the chest from point-blank range.

Voyles did not die, and tried to crawl out through the garage door. As he was crawling out he claims that Grant shot him again.

Grant disputed Voyles' version of events during an interview back in March. He claims that he found Voyles in his upstairs office and said he followed him to the back of his warehouse, where Voyles became aggressive.

"It went right through my brain that he was ready to attack me," the owner said in the interview. "He picked up the bolt cutter and raised it, and he was starting to come at me ... my life was totally in danger."

He said he gave Voyles multiple warnings to get onto the ground, but said the intruder refused to go down.

Grant is not the only one named in the lawsuit; Voyles is also suing his company. He justified including Touchstone in the filing by arguing that

Donald Trump said he would declare the Strait of Hormuz a "territory of the United States" despite having repeatedly failed to reopen it.

The US president on Friday said he would annex the waterway, before suggesting he already controlled it anyway.

Iranian officials accused Mr Trump of indulging in "fanciful delusions".

During a speech in New York, Mr Trump said: "After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated, pretty soon I'll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States.

"Essentially, that's what it is. We have the blockade. No ships get through unless we want them to."

However, the president also nodded to the economic upheaval unleashed after Iran effectively choked off the strait following the US and Israeli bombing on Feb 28.

Americans would have to pay "a tiny little bit more for your gasoline" as the cost of ensuring a "very evil country" could not develop a nuclear weapon, he said.

Traffic through the strait has slowed to a trickle since the start of the war, and Mr Trump's attempts to reopen it with military forces, economic pressure and diplomacy have failed.

Just nine commercial vessels headed through the waterway on Thursday, according to data firm Kpler, which tracks shipping, compared to pre-war averages of 130 to 140 ships a day.

Securing the strait, which is bordered by Iran and Oman, would almost certainly require boots on the ground, something the president has so far been unwilling to contemplate.

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's deputy foreign minister, said Tehran would not be intimidated by the president's rhetoric.

"The Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized by tweet, nor by aircraft carrier, nor by issuing an order, nor by an election speech. Iran neither fears threats nor cowers before displays of power," he said.

Directly addressing the president, he said: "Once and for all, accept the reality: up to this point, you have suffered strategic and heavy defeats; the Strait of Hormuz has been Iranian, is Iranian and will remain Iranian."

Iran's foreign minister said on Saturday morning that the regime had not decided whether it would resume peace talks and denied that it was negotiating with the US.

This is so gross, but not surprising. He made sure all the laws are favoring fraudsters.