The record itself. Nothing in it licenses, or requires licensing of, the Sign's image.
In plain terms
This site's method is simple: every claim resolves to a document, and the documents are listed here — held on file, linked, or openly marked as pending. Read them yourself. Four decades of paper about the Hollywood Sign contain brand registrations, a charitable-enforcement lawsuit, a refused application, and a federal order — and not one instrument giving any private party the right to license the landmark's image.
Legal analysis
An asserted right should be traceable to an instrument. The instruments are below, and the trace fails: the registrations define brand rights in goods and services; the 1992 settlement is a release; the 2004 prosecution history is a refusal; the 2025 order is a rejection of the depiction theory. Absences are stated as absences, because an absence — the registration that does not exist, the City instrument never located — is itself part of the record. The landmark is not trademarked.
1On file
| Document | What it establishes | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Settlement Agreement and Stipulated Judgment, Lungren v. Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, et al., No. BC 041349 (L.A. Super. Ct. 1992) | The AG/City release re: the Chamber's marks (¶¶ 7–8); Chamber's removal as trustee; trust restructuring; repayment schedule | ON FILE |
| Complaint of the California Attorney General, same action (same file) | Allegations of misappropriation, commingling, constructive fraud, unfair business practices, incl. film-permit fee solicitations (settled, not adjudicated) | ON FILE |
| Seager & Balazadeh-Nayeri, Los Angeles Times, Apr. 26, 2020 (UC Irvine IP Clinic) — syndicated copy | Attorney analysis: the 2004 USPTO refusals, studio opposition and abandonment; no fee owed for showing the Sign | ON FILE |
| USPTO TSDR records, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce registrations and applications | The actual portfolio: word and design marks for identified goods/services; the 2004 prosecution history | PUBLIC — tsdr.uspto.gov |
| Order of Mar. 10, 2025, No. 1:25-cv-01662 (N.D. Ill.) | Depicting the real-world landmark is not infringement; preliminary relief denied as to most accused products | PACER |
2Pending retrieval
| Document | Why it matters | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Signed default judgment, docket entry 58 (Sept. 8, 2025), No. 1:25-cv-01662 | The unopposed judgments the Chamber cites; posture matters | PENDING RETRIEVAL |
| 1978 Declaration of Trust, Hollywood Sign Trust | The Trust's self-made maintenance commitment | PENDING RETRIEVAL |
| Recorded City deed instruments, 1944 transfer | The chain of the City's title | PENDING RETRIEVAL |
3Located nowhere
| Instrument | Status |
|---|---|
| Any federal registration of the Hollywood Sign, or of depictions of the Sign | NONE — REFUSED IN 2004 |
| Any City instrument granting the Hollywood Sign Trust standing authority to maintain the Sign | NONE — EXISTENCE DENIED BY CD4 (2026) |
| Any judgment holding that depicting the Sign infringes a trademark | NONE LOCATED |
Archived copies of quoted sources are posted so the versions this site quotes remain inspectable even if the originals change. Corrections, additions, or contrary documents are welcome at record@hollywoodsign.io — the corrections log records what changes.