Elf Labs Wins Permanent Trademark Victory After Supreme Court Closes Door on Challenges

Ruling Locks In Protections for Elf Labs' 500-Plus Character Assets as Company Advances Toward Public Markets

MIAMI, May 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Elf Labs, the entertainment company behind one of the world's most commercially developed intellectual property portfolios, announced a permanent trademark victory after winning in two federal courts and successfully blocking a final appeal at the U.S. Supreme Court. Both federal courts sided with Elf Labs and dismissed a challenge to its RAPUNZEL trademark registration. Elf Labs retained Holland & Knight LLP to oppose the petition for Supreme Court review. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on April 20, making that protection final, permanent and binding across the industry.

Because the Federal Circuit established a binding standard for who may challenge a registered trademark, the ruling shields not just Rapunzel but also Elf Labs' entire portfolio.

"We spent well over a decade building legal protections around the world's most beloved characters, and this ruling confirms they hold," said David Phillips, CEO of Elf Labs.

At the center of the victory is Elf Labs' portfolio of more than 500 registered character assets, including Cinderella, Snow White and The Little Mermaid. Its characters have generated more than $15 million in royalties across more than 30 countries and form the legal foundation of the company's licensing, animation, consumer products and immersive entertainment businesses.

"This decision gives companies that have invested in building and commercializing registered character portfolios real, durable certainty," said Thomas Brooke, a partner at Holland & Knight LLP and counsel in the case. "The court drew a clear line: the trademark opposition process exists for parties with genuine commercial stakes, not as an open channel for any challenger."

The ruling comes as Elf Labs advances into preproduction on its first animated feature film, with wide-scale theatrical distribution secured across China, a market with over 90,000 movie theatre screens.

Elf Labs has also appointed Dimitria Parisis as head of investor relations and chief of staff. Parisis brings more than 12 years of experience at Cerberus Capital Management, where she managed investor relations and reporting on over $25 billion in assets for institutional and high net worth investors.

"Dimitria joins at exactly the right moment," Phillips said. "With more than 4,000 investors already backing our company, we needed someone who has operated at the highest levels of institutional finance."

About Elf Labs:

Elf Labs is a technology-powered entertainment studio that owns a portfolio of valuable character IP, including the Junior Elf book series and icons like Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel.

Elf Labs develops, licenses and distributes its franchises across animation, interactive media, consumer products and immersive experiences. Through its vertically integrated model, the company produces original content with plans to deliver through its owned platforms, including the Elf+ streaming service and Elf Mobile wireless network, while retaining control of its underlying IP.

The company has reserved the Nasdaq ticker symbol ELFS. For more information, visit elflabs.com.

Forward-looking statements appear here based on current information. They involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause outcomes to differ. Nasdaq ticker "ELFS" has been reserved by Elf Labs and any potential listing is subject to future regulatory approval and market conditions.

Media Contact:
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SOURCE Elf Labs