A Pandora lawsuit search in 2026 turns up activity on two very different fronts: the Danish jewelry maker Pandora A/S is defending a copyright suit in New York brought by luxury brand FoundRae and a criminal fraud investigation in Denmark, while the streaming service Pandora Media is working through a royalty fight with the Mechanical Licensing Collective and has just settled a long-running copyright case brought by major stand-up comedians. Several older disputes, including a PayPal trademark complaint and shareholder litigation over the SiriusXM merger, have already closed.
FoundRae’s Copyright Suit Over Pandora’s Talisman Medallions
On February 17, 2026, FoundRae’s parent company, Cemayla LLC, sued Pandora Jewelry LLC and Pandora A/S in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging that Pandora’s new Talisman collection copied two of FoundRae’s signature medallion designs.1PACER Monitor. Cemayla LLC v. Pandora Jewelry LLC et al, Complaint
FoundRae, founded in 2015 by designer Beth Bugdaycay and her husband Murat, sells 18-karat gold medallions starting at $3,600.2JCK Online. 5 Things To Know About Foundrae3National Jeweler. Foundrae Sues Pandora for Allegedly Copying Its Medallion Designs Pandora launched its 12-piece Talisman line of recycled sterling silver medallions, retailing from $45, on August 25, 2025.4Pandora Group. Pandora Unveils Two New Collections Reinventing Its Core Charm Offering
The complaint focuses on two FoundRae designs with federal copyright registrations (secured in 2021 and 2023): the “Passion” medallion, which arranges crossed arrows and a star, and the “Balance” medallion, which splits sun and moon imagery in a yin-yang composition. FoundRae alleges that Pandora’s “Crossing Arrows” and “Sun and Moon” medallions copied “nearly verbatim the protected expression of the original designs,” and that Pandora also mimicked FoundRae’s “collage-style, mood board” marketing and heirloom-oriented storytelling.3National Jeweler. Foundrae Sues Pandora for Allegedly Copying Its Medallion Designs FoundRae is asking for a jury trial, a permanent injunction, and a recall of the collection from Pandora stores and its website.
Pandora moved to dismiss on April 20, 2026, arguing that crossed arrows and sun-and-moon imagery are generic, public-domain symbols entitled only to “thin” copyright protection that would require near-identical copying to infringe.5The Fashion Law. Foundrae Urges Court To Keep Pandora Jewelry Copyright Case in Play FoundRae opposed on May 4, 2026, arguing that it is not trying to monopolize individual symbols but to protect the “specific arrangement, styling, and composition” and the “total concept and feel” of its medallions. The court had not ruled on the motion as of mid-2026.
The MLC’s Unpaid Royalties Case Against Pandora Media
Pandora Media, now a unit of SiriusXM, is defending a federal royalty suit brought by the Mechanical Licensing Collective, the nonprofit Congress created under the Music Modernization Act to administer blanket mechanical licenses. The MLC filed the case on February 12, 2024, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, alleging Pandora had underpaid mechanical royalties and late fees going back to January 2021.6The MLC Blog. The Mechanical Licensing Collective Brings Legal Action for Unpaid Royalties Against Pandora Media LLC
The core question is whether “Pandora Free,” the ad-supported tier, qualifies as an interactive streaming service. The MLC points to “Sponsored Premium Access” sessions, which let users play specific songs on demand in exchange for watching ads, along with unlimited skips and replays. If Pandora Free is interactive, Pandora owes mechanical royalties on all its streaming activity, much like Spotify does for its free tier. Pandora has called the suit a “gross overreach,” arguing its service is primarily noninteractive and that sponsored on-demand sessions make up a tiny share of listening. Pandora has also challenged the MLC’s constitutional authority to enforce the Copyright Act without direct federal oversight.7Billboard. Pandora MLC Lawsuit Streaming Royalties
Discovery has closed and both sides have moved for summary judgment. If the judge does not resolve the case on those motions, a jury trial is scheduled for June 30, 2026.
Comedians’ Copyright Case Against Pandora Settles
In late January 2026, Pandora Media settled a consolidated copyright case brought by several major stand-up comedians and the estates of others. Plaintiffs in In re Pandora Media LLC Copyright Litigation, filed in 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, included Bill Engvall, Lewis Black, Ron White, Andrew Dice Clay, Nick Di Paolo, and George Lopez, along with the estates of Robin Williams, George Carlin, and the mother of Bill Hicks.8Courthouse News Service. Stand-Up Comedians Settle Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against Pandora
The comedians argued Pandora’s licenses covered the sound recordings of their routines but not the underlying “literary works,” the written jokes themselves, for which they received no payment. Pandora filed an antitrust counterclaim accusing the comedians and performing-rights organization Word Collections of forming a cartel to inflate rates; U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi rejected it in 2023. In 2025, court-appointed special master Suzanne Segal, a retired magistrate judge, recommended Pandora prevail on an “implied license” theory, concluding the comedians knew for nearly a decade that their routines were streaming on Pandora, never objected, and accepted sound-recording royalties the whole time.
Judge Scarsi then pushed the parties into settlement talks. Terms are confidential, but a SiriusXM spokesperson confirmed that Pandora did not pay the comedians for the literary-work rights and did not take any new licenses.9Reuters. Pandora Settles Comedians’ Lawsuit Over Streaming Royalties
Pre-1972 Recordings: Flo & Eddie and the Labels
Pandora Media’s earlier copyright fight concerned sound recordings made before 1972, which federal copyright law did not cover. In October 2014, Flo & Eddie Inc., formed by members of The Turtles, filed a proposed class action in California seeking $25 million for streams of pre-1972 recordings. After years of appeals, including a 2019 Ninth Circuit remand over whether the Music Modernization Act preempted the claims, Judge Philip Gutierrez granted summary judgment to Pandora on July 25, 2023, holding that pre-1972 sound recordings carried no public performance right under California law.10Latham & Watkins LLP. Pandora Beats The Turtles Pre-1972 Copyright Suit
Separately, in October 2015 Pandora paid $90 million to settle parallel RIAA-backed litigation in New York state court brought by Sony Music, Capitol, Universal, Warner, and ABKCO. The deal covered $60 million for pre-1972 usage through 2015 and $30 million for usage through 2016, with an agreement to negotiate forward-looking terms with the RIAA.11Variety. Pandora RIAA Pre-1972 Recordings Copyright12Courthouse News Service. Pandora and Record Labels Reach $90M Deal
Trademark and Shareholder Cases Already Resolved
Two older disputes involving Pandora Media have closed. In May 2017, PayPal sued Pandora in the Southern District of New York over Pandora’s redesigned blue “P” logo, adopted in October 2016, which PayPal said was confusingly similar to its own logo and was causing consumers to open the wrong app.13ABA Journal. PayPal Sues Pandora Over the Letter P14Billboard. PayPal Sues Pandora Similar Logo Lawsuit Trademark The parties filed a voluntary dismissal in November 2017 on undisclosed terms, and Pandora kept using the logo.15GM Law. Update: PayPal and Pandora Settle
Shareholders also challenged SiriusXM’s $3.5 billion acquisition of Pandora Media. In the lead case, Tornetta v. Maffei, Delaware Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick cleared a class action trial to begin May 19, 2023, on allegations that Liberty Media and Sirius XM directors orchestrated a below-value buyout.16Bloomberg Law. This Week in Chancery Court: Sirius Pandora Buyout Goes to Trial A settlement on undisclosed terms was reached on May 12, 2023, one week before trial.17Law360. Settlement Heads Off Trial on $3.5B Pandora Sirius Merger
Danish Fraud Investigation Involving Pandora A/S
In Denmark, Pandora A/S is the subject of an ongoing criminal fraud investigation tied to a long-running dispute with Jesper “Kasi” Nielsen, a Danish businessman who was once a partner in Pandora’s Central Western European distribution subsidiary. Nielsen sold his shares around 2010 for an initial 385 million Danish kroner (roughly $55 million at the time), plus an earn-out tied to the subsidiary’s performance.18Ekstra Bladet. Kasi Jesper Har Anmeldt Pandora
When the earn-out came due around 2015, Pandora concluded nothing was owed. Nielsen, who had expected about 1.5 billion kroner, alleges Pandora manipulated the subsidiary’s books between 2010 and 2014 by forcing it to absorb returned goods from other global units, wiping out its profit. An arbitration tribunal ruled for Pandora in 2021, and Nielsen initially stood down, writing on Facebook that the independent auditor “could unfortunately not find where they had cheated us.” Nielsen was declared personally bankrupt in November 2020 and later revived his claims.
In 2024, Nielsen filed a criminal fraud complaint with Denmark’s National Unit for Special Crimes (NSK), citing documents he said showed the subsidiary’s internal accounts recorded large profits that contradicted Pandora’s public disclosures. The NSK opened an investigation. In March 2025, the Lyngby Court ordered documents handed over to investigators, and Pandora employees have been questioned.19Kasimillard Kampen. Kasi Jesper Accuses Pandora of Fraud By October 2025, Danish media reported the NSK had executed search and seizure orders, a step that also prevented a ten-year statute of limitations from closing the case.20Ugebrev. Politiet Har Sigtet En Eller Flere i Pandora-Kasi Opgøret Pandora says it is cooperating with investigators and that the allegations are baseless. CEO Alexander Lacik has not been questioned. The investigation remained open as of early 2026.