WASHINGTON, D.C. – Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Lee Terry (R-NE) (pictured) recently proposed draft text of legislation to address illegitimate patent demand letters. The legislation is designed to protect businesses from abusive patent assertion entities, also known as PAEs or patent trolls, while preserving the ability of legitimate companies…
Indiana Intellectual Property Law News
Indiana Patent Law: Magistrate Declines to Grant Crime-Fraud Exception to Attorney-Client Privilege
Evansville, Indiana – In the matter of Berry Plastics Corp. v. Intertape Polymer Corp., Indiana patent attorneys for Berry Plastics Corporation (“Berry”) invoked the crime-fraud exception to the attorney-client privilege, asking the court to compel Intertape Polymer Corporation (“Intertape”) to produce documents and testimony it had withheld as privileged. Magistrate…
Indiana Trademark Law: Personal Jurisdiction Cannot be Based on Alter-Ego Theory
Indianapolis, Indiana – In the matter of American Petroleum Institute v. Bullseye Automotive Products, et al., Indiana trademark litigators Paul B. Overhauser and John M. Bradshaw of Overhauser Law Offices, attorneys for Carlos Silva, petitioned the court to dismiss Silva for lack of personal jurisdiction. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt…
Indiana Copyright Law: Three Default Judgments of $2,500 Ordered for Copyright Infringement
Indianapolis, Indiana – In Bell v. Glacier International, District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt (pictured) of the Southern District of Indiana granted default judgments against three defendants, DiamondIndyLimo.com, Lon Dunn and Glacier International. In the three nearly identical opinions, the three defendants were each ordered to pay statutory damages of $2,500…
USPTO Launches Glossary Pilot to Promote Patent Claim Clarity
Washington, D.C. – The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) recently announced the launch of a new Glossary Pilot as part of a White House Executive Action designed to enhance claim clarity in the specification of software-related patent applications. The pilot runs for six months from the start date…
USPTO Cancels Redskins Trademark as “Disparaging” to Native Americans
Washington, D.C. – The opinion in Blackhorse v. Pro Football, Inc., TTAB Cancellation No. 92046185, resolved the petition of five Native Americans who filed for the cancellation of six “Redskins” trademarks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”). Yesterday, in a 177-page opinion, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board…
Indiana Trademark Litigation: Liquid Palace Sues E Liquid Palace for Trademark Infringement
New Albany, Indiana – Trademark attorneys for Liquid Palace, LLC and Robert W. Kaiser, Jr., both of New Albany, Indiana, filed an intellectual property lawsuit alleging that E Liquid Palace, LLC and Austin Simon, both of Jeffersonville, Indiana, and Russell Simon of Louisville, Kentucky infringed registered trademarks “Genie” and “Liquid…
Appeals Court Disallows Mass Joinder in Copyright Infringement Litigation
Washington, D.C. – The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia handed copyright trolls a major defeat recently by removing one of their most powerful tactics: the ability to sue large groups of John Doe defendants together with minimal evidence. The case, AF Holdings v. Does 1-1058,…
Indiana Intellectual Property Litigation: DirecTV Sues Alleging Illegal Satellite Signal Interception
Indianapolis, Indiana – An intellectual property lawyer for DirecTV, LLC of El Segundo, California has sued in the Southern District of Indiana alleging that Jeremy Jennings and Regal Enterprises, LLC d/b/a Ron-De-Voo Inn, all of Hagerstown, Indiana illegally utilized a satellite signal that had been licensed for residential service by…
Indiana Intellectual Property Litigation: J & J Sports Sues Again Asserting Illegal Cable Signal Interception
Hammond, Indiana – An intellectual property attorney for J & J Sports Productions, Inc. (“J & J Sports”) of Campbell, California sued Sheila M. Kikalos individually and d/b/a Valla Del Sol a/k/a Villa Del Sol of Merrillville, Indiana in the Northern District of Indiana alleging the illegal interception and broadcast…