Dispute emerges over a progressive Los Angeles news platform, resulting in simultaneous legal actions.
In the midst of legal chaos, journalists Ben Camacho and Cerise Castle accuse Ground Game LA of exploiting their work and profiting off it without authorization, despite blocking them from the Knock LA site. Ground Game LA counters that the journalists attempted to hijack Knock LA, misrepresenting themselves as the outlet's genuine leaders, stealing confidential information, and taking its trademarked name.
This bitter dispute over Knock LA, Los Angeles' independent media outlet, has ignited a firestorm in the city's political left for over a year. Recently, the conflict exploded into the legal system, with both sides filing lawsuits alleging copyright and trademark infringement, defamation, and theft of trade secrets.
On one side stand prominent journalists, such as Cerise Castle and Ben Camacho, who built substantial public followings for their tough reporting on local law enforcement. On the opposing side is Ground Game LA, an advocacy group that has risen to prominence alongside the leftward shift in the city's power structure.
Ground Game LA established Knock LA in 2017 as a community journalism project, aimed at serving Los Angeles progressives. The platform thrived during the pandemic, offering voter guides, live coverage of public meetings, and other activist-focused content. As city government came under increased scrutiny during epidemic restrictions and protests, Knock LA's extensive online presence channeled public attention into activism.
Ground Game LA also flourished amid this political surge. The group played a crucial role in the election campaigns of Meghan Choi, Nithya Raman, Eunisses Hernandez, Hugo Soto-Martínez, and Kenneth Mejia, demonstrating its influence in the city's political landscape.
The fractious relationship between the outlet's leadership and some journalists who became synonymous with Knock LA's work deepened in spring 2024. Camacho and Castle accuse Ground Game LA of continuing to profit off their work without any compensation, while the organization asserts that the journalists tried to seize control of the news outlet.
This week, Castle and Camacho filed a federal lawsuit against Ground Game LA, Liberty Hill Foundation, and the California Endowment, alleging that these parties have "maliciously and systematically" exploited their copyrighted journalistic works across multiple platforms. The lawsuit centers around Castle's investigative series, "A Tradition of Violence," which uncovered violent law enforcement cliques within the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Camacho, for his part, identifies 23 images and articles that he claims Ground Game has infringed upon. The dispute revolves around ownership of the journalists' contributions, as both parties argue that they have retained copyrights and never signed work-for-hire agreements.
Camacho and Castle allege that Ground Game misappropriated their work to boost its fundraising and status. The California Endowment and Liberty Hill, which provided financial backing to Ground Game, are implicated in the alleged infringement, according to the suit. Both organizations declined to comment.
Both sides are seeking injunctions, compensatory damages, and permanent restraining orders. The journalists aim to protect their hard-earned investigative work, while Ground Game LA argues that the dispute is about someone trying to hijack its project and identity.
This contentious legal battle raises questions about intellectual property rights,joint ownership, and creators' rights in the journalism industry, particularly for those from historically excluded communities. At the heart of the conflict lies the question of who controls a small independent media outlet and whether creators can retain ownership of their work when it is produced using organizational resources.
- The legal dispute between Ben Camacho and Cerise Castle, and Ground Game LA over Knock LA has been a hot topic in the general-news and politics arena for over a year.
- The recent escalation of this dispute into legal litigation involves allegations of copyright and trademark infringement, defamation, and theft of trade secrets.
- Ground Game LA, an advocacy group influential in the city's political landscape, initially created Knock LA in 2017 as a community journalism project for serving Los Angeles progressives.
- This legal battle centers around the ownership of journalistic works created by Ben Camacho and Cerise Castle, with both parties claiming they have retained copyrights and never signed work-for-hire agreements.
- The focus of the lawsuit filed by Castle and Camacho is on Castle's investigative series, "A Tradition of Violence," which exposed violent law enforcement cliques within the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
- The lawsuit also alleges that Ground Game LA used the journalists' works to boost its fundraising and status, implicating the California Endowment and Liberty Hill Foundation due to their financial backing of the organization.
- Both parties, Camacho and Castle, and Ground Game LA, are seeking injunctions, compensatory damages, and permanent restraining orders as they argue about control of the small independent media outlet and creators' rights in the journalism industry.
- This contentious legal battle raises important questions about intellectual property rights, joint ownership, and creators' rights for journalists, particularly those from historically excluded communities.
