Six models allege that San Antonio’s Capisce Gentlemen’s Club used their likeness without permission to promote the business on its Facebook page. Credit: Exhibit 34 / Federal Lawsuit

A group of six models, including former Playboy Playmates, sued San Antonio’s Capisce Gentlemen’s Club in federal court last week, alleging the business’ use of their photos in advertising is copyright infringement.

The models, represented by Boerne attorney Dennis Postiglione, allege that TWIMBV Inc., which does business as Capisce, violated the Lanham Act by using the images without permission to advertise the club on its website and in social media posts.

Passed by Congress in 1964, the Lanham Act established a national system for registering trademarks and provides civil penalties for false advertising, trademark infringement, and trademark dilution, among other trademark-related infractions.

The suit, filed last Thursday in U.S. District Court in San Antonio, was first reported on Monday by the Express-News.

The club’s registered agent, Arturo Velarde, was unavailable to provide an immediate comment to the suit to the Current.

The plaintiffs — 2013 Playboy Playmate of the Year Jaclyn Swedberg, Paradizia Swimwear model Lina Posada, Russian actress and Playboy Playmate Irina Voronina, Diet Coke TV commercial actress Eva Pepaj, former Miss Cuba Jamillette Gaxiola and Colombian model Mariana Davalos — are seeking at least $75,000 in damages.

Exhibits attached to the suit show that Capisce used images of the models to advertise its Military Mondays promotions, sporting events including Super Bowl LVIII and hiring ads on its Facebook page.

The models allege that Capisce Gentlemen’s Club violated the Lanham Act, which protects against copyright infringement, at least 88 times since 2020, according to the petition. Credit: Exhibit 50/ Federal Lawsuit

The suit includes 88 instances in which Capisce Gentlemen’s Club allegedly violated the Lanham Act since 2020.

None of the models named in the suit are Texas residents, according to the petition.

It’s not the first time Velarde’s club, located at 9504 Perrin Beitel Road in Northeast San Antonio, has been accused of trademark infringement.

In 2021, the ex-wife of former Texas State Sen. Carlos Uresti sued Capisce Gentlemen’s Club and Velarde, seeking more than $100,000 in damages, for using her photo to promote the club on Facebook, the Express-News reported at the time.

In that suit, Uresti’s ex-wife, Lleanna Elizondo, said the business inflicted “emotional distress” by using her photo to promote a “sexually explicit business” without her permission, according to the daily.

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This article appears in Nov 13-26, 2024.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...