Update On Lawsuit AEW Facing Over Luchasaurus

The lawsuit against AEW from mask manufacturer Composite Effects, alleging that AEW was using a copyrighted design for their merchandise, has come to a close. According to Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, AEW and Composite Effects, or CFX, agreed to an undisclosed settlement and, as of yesterday, the lawsuit was dismissed.

CFX's lawsuit alleged that the mask belonging to AEW star Luchasaurus (real name Austin Matelson) was based on one of their copyrighted designs. The lawsuit was first filed at the end of last year, naming both Matelson and AEW as defendants. CFX stated that they had been unable to agree to licensing terms with Matelson but AEW continued using the design on merchandise nonetheless. Additionally, AEW was accused of having similar masks created by other companies that were close enough to infringe upon the copyright of the original design.

Earlier this year, AEW attempted to have five of the six counts dropped, but the judge later denied AEW's motion to dismiss. Matelson was not mentioned in the court document dated yesterday. While it's likely that the suit against Matelson has been dropped as well, that has yet to be fully confirmed.

Luchasaurus appeared last night on "AEW Dynamite," wrestling Adam Copeland in the WWE Hall of Famer's AEW debut. Matelson wore the current, darker version of the Luchasaurus mask that he's been wearing since becoming a villain. While the lawsuit only dealt with merchandising rights rather than usage on TV, last night would have been the time to debut a new mask for the AEW star if they had planned on it. Instead, it seems the new settlement likely resolved the merchandising issues and Luchasaurus will continue using the mask going forward.