Pandora must face FoundRae's copyright suit over Talisman charms
Judge Colleen McMahon denied the motion to dismiss on 10 September, finding a reasonable juror could hold that Pandora copied the design. Two medallions are at issue.
By The Retail & Tech Desk
What changed
The case proceeds. Judge Colleen McMahon denied Pandora's motion to dismiss FoundRae's copyright claim on 10 September, over two medallion designs in the Talisman collection.
What it means
- If you design symbol jewellery: the court weighed overall arrangement and appearance, not single elements.
- If you buy for a chain: the order decides nothing about the collection, only that the claim survives.
- What this is not: a finding of infringement. A motion to dismiss tests the pleading, not the facts.
Key figures
| Medallions at issueBalance and Passion | 2 |
|---|---|
| Order datemotion to dismiss denied | 10 Sep |
| Talisman launchthe accused collection | Aug 2025 |
| Damages setnoneno figure at this stage | |
Source: Order of 10 September 2026 in the Southern District of New York, as reported by JCK on 15 September 2026 · the order itself was not read by Carat Capital
Crossed arrows and a sun
Two medallions. FoundRae says Pandora copied protected elements of its Balance and Passion medallions, which carry crossed arrows and sun-and-moon imagery.
Into the charms. Those designs are alleged to appear in Pandora's Talisman collection, launched in August 2025.
| Element | As reported |
|---|---|
| Plaintiff | Cemayla LLC, the company behind FoundRae |
| Defendant | Pandora Jewelry LLC |
| Court | US District Court, Southern District of New York |
| Judge | Colleen McMahon |
| Order | Motion to dismiss denied, 10 September 2026 |
| Designs at issue | The Balance and Passion medallions |
| Accused collection | Pandora Talisman, launched August 2025 |
| Damages | No figure set at this stage |
Notes on this table
Source. JCK's report of 15 September 2026.
The order itself. was not read by Carat Capital and is not quoted beyond the words JCK carries.
The case number. JCK prints, NYSDCE-26-01331, is not in the Southern District's usual docket format. It was not verified at the court and is left out of the table.
Denying a motion to dismiss. decides only that a claim may proceed. It is not a ruling on infringement, and no damages figure exists yet.
The test is overall feel
Arrangement, not elements. McMahon framed the question as whether the overall arrangement and appearance are substantially similar.
The court's own words. The order found that “a reasonable juror could find that Pandora misappropriated FoundRae's original design.”
No damages, no timetable
Nothing on money. The report carries no damages figure and no trial date, and neither would be set by an order of this kind.
Pandora's second year. The accused collection has been on sale since August 2025, which is a year of trading before this order.
What to watch
- Q4 2026Pandora's answer, and any counterclaim on the surviving count.
- 2027A scheduling order, which would set the first firm date in the case.
The story so far
Go deeper
What would change this call
The order itself. This desk read a trade report, not the docket, and the court's own reasoning may narrow which elements survive.
What a motion to dismiss decides
A defendant moving to dismiss argues that even if everything the plaintiff pleads is true, the law gives no remedy. The judge therefore takes the plaintiff's account as given and asks only whether a claim exists on those facts. Denying the motion says the case may go to discovery; it says nothing about who will win, and no money changes hands. In a design-copyright case the usual battleground at this stage is whether the protected elements are original enough and whether the accused article is substantially similar, which is why the court's framing of that test matters more here than any number.
Method
JCK's report of 15 September 2026 was fetched directly and carries the judge, the court, the parties, the collection, its launch month and the order's date. The order was NOT read: this desk did not reach the docket, and the case number JCK prints, NYSDCE-26-01331, is not in the format the Southern District of New York uses, so it is reported here as unverified rather than repeated as fact. One quote is used, eleven words, attributed to the order. Archive test, both periods named: a grep of the 375-article archive returns eleven hits for FoundRae and all eleven were opened and read. Every one belongs to Carat Capital's 16 July piece on FoundRae opening its first store outside the United States on Mount Street in July 2026, or to a 17 July piece citing it; that is a retail expansion in the third quarter of 2026. This item covers copyright litigation and an order of 10 September 2026. Same company, different subject, different period, so NEW. Pandora returns twenty-two hits, read by title and dek: the two substantive ones cover executive appointments in August 2026, with no overlap on litigation.
Sources
- Judge Won't Dismiss Copyright Suit Against Pandora, JCK 15 September 2026