A brutal  copyright fight is unfolding in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio involving celebrity real estate investor Clayton Morris, who until 2017 was a co-host on "Fox & Friends."

Represented by Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr partner Louis Tompros, Morris on Tuesday sued competitor James Wise and the Holton Wise Property Group for copyright and trademark infringement, misappropriation of Morris' name, likeness and voice, right of privacy violations, unfair competition and illegal wiretapping. 

Morris claims that Wise and his company "spread misinformation and trade on Mr. Morris's name and rights in exchange for clicks. They post sensationalized stories about Mr. Morris so that, in the words of Mr. Wise, 'When people Google your name they'll see mine.'"

Er, is trading on someone's name and writing sensationalized stories to get clicks illegal? (Asking for a friend).

In this case, it's hard to say.

Morris spent nearly 18 years as a journalist and television news anchor before devoting himself to "providing real estate content and services through his Morris Invest YouTube channel and company," according to a press release. 

But it hasn't been smooth sailing. The Indy Star in March ran a story headlined Investors say ex-'Fox & Friends' host turned them into unwitting slumlords. 

According to the article, Morris has been involved in hundreds of real estate transactions in Indianapolis. "But in his wake is a trail of disgruntled investors, tenants living in deplorable conditions and dilapidated Indianapolis homes that could plague the city for years," the newspaper reported.

Morris has been hit with at least five lawsuits by unhappy investors, according to the Star. 

Wilmer is not representing him in those cases—Hoover Hull Turner is taking the lead.

But Morris tapped Tompros—who won Litigator of the Week in January, prevailing in a trademark fight on behalf of Bombardier Recreational Products—to go after Wise. 

A key player in all of this is Oceanpointe Investments—which Morris hired to perform repairs and act as a property manager. Morris blames the problems described in the Star story on Oceanpointe, which he said lied to him about its work and misappropriated funds, sticking him with hundreds of thousands of dollars of bills. Morris severed ties with Oceanpointe and reported the company to the Indiana Attorney General. 

According to Morris, Wise is unfairly capitalizing on his misfortune—and is using his copyright, trademark, name, likeness, and voice to do so in videos and other materials. 

"Knowing full well that Mr. Morris did not commit 'fraud' of any kind, defendants have nonetheless fanned the flames of public outrage to try to drive clicks to defendants' own websites," the complaint states. 

Just how nasty is this fight? Wise's company allegedly sells shirts that say "I Bought This T-shirt Because They Don't Make Clayton Morris toilet paper."

Classy. Very classy.