The Golden Globes filed a four-claim federal complaint on September 30 against the Golden Globe Foundation, seeking an injunction and unspecified damages for trademark infringement and unfair competition. Yes, the plural entity is suing the singular one. Two entities, one name, and a jury now requested.

The filing lands two months after the remnants of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association sued Penske Media Corporation over its role in dick clark productions' 2023 purchase of the Globes, alleging monopolization and fraudulent misrepresentation. A brief disclosure is owed here: PMC is the parent company of Deadline's owners, PMX.

What does the complaint actually allege?

Represented by Sidley Austin, the Globes accuse the Foundation — with heavy emphasis on board boss Raffi Boghosian — of using the GOLDEN GLOBE mark without authorization. The complaint states the Foundation has "adopted and continued using the GOLDEN GLOBE mark as part of its corporate name and in connection with a broad array of activities, including hosting events, conducting auctions, awarding grants, publishing materials, and developing merchandise — activities that are confusingly similar to Plaintiff's business."

The specifics in the filing include:

• A rejected 2025 cease-and-desist letter.
• Licensing negotiations cut off in July 2026, when Boghosian took over the Foundation.
• Allegations that the Foundation's activities have "expanded well beyond its stated charitable mission" into "other commercial and quasi-commercial activities."
• A claim of "a broader pattern of coordination between GGF and the HFPA directed against Plaintiff and its affiliates."

Where does the money come in?

As ever, it comes in through the settlement. The complaint asserts, "on information and belief," that the Foundation and the HFPA have entered into or are finalizing a settlement of the HFPA's claims that would transfer charitable funds to the HFPA. The Globes' lawyers argue the HFPA's naming of the Foundation as a defendant "was a pretext designed to facilitate this transfer," with the settlement intended to "redirect charitable funds to finance the HFPA's lawsuit and other private disputes against Plaintiff." The purpose, per the filing: trading on the Globes' goodwill "in alignment with the HFPA against Plaintiff's interests." That is a lot of alleged choreography for a nonprofit.

How does the Foundation respond?

Not with capitulation. "The Golden Globe Foundation was created in 2023 as part of the same deal that sold the Golden Globes to the company now suing us," Foundation spokesman Nate Miller said in a Tuesday statement. "That company then promoted our name. The Golden Globes' president welcomed guests to our first grants dinner, where we gave $5 million to 96 organizations, and publicly thanked Penske Media's own Robb Report for supporting the Foundation."

Five million dollars to 96 organizations works out to roughly $52,000 per recipient, for those keeping score at home. Miller added that the company — owned by Penske Media and billionaire Todd Boehly's Eldridge — "is suing a nonprofit that supports schools and press freedom over the same name it once celebrated. This lawsuit is a transparent attempt to pressure the Foundation, and we will answer it in court." So it will be answered in court. Both sides agree on the venue, at least.

What happens to the ceremony itself?

The 84th Golden Globes proceed regardless of the dockets. The submission deadline for the 2027 ceremony is October 30 this year, and Nikki Glaser returns for a third hosting turn when the show airs January 10, 2027, on CBS and streams on Paramount+.

The complaint, for its part, recites the HFPA's various scandals over the years and the damage they did to the ceremony's lucrative TV rights — a history the Globes presumably wish to avoid repeating. Suing a foundation over an omitted letter is one way of guarding the brand. Whether a jury agrees is now the question, and the race, both legal and seasonal, continues.