SoftMaker and SEG Sue Third Scroll Copyright and Trademark Infringements of Computer Software Products.

Indianapolis, IN – A trademark and copyright infringement case filed in the Southern District of California has been transferred to the Southern District of Indiana. Intellectual property attorneys for SoftMaker and SEG, both of Nuremberg, Germany have filed a trademark and copyright infringement suit in the Southern District of California alleging that Third Scroll of Indianapolis, Indiana infringed trademark registration no. 3,051,159 for the mark SOFTMAKER and trademark registration no. 3,104,173 for the mark TEXTMAKER registered by the US Trademark Office. The case was transferred to the Southern District of Indiana on November 29.

The plaintiffs are software development companies. The complaint states the suit is based on the defendant’s production, importation and sale of hacked copies of the plaintiff’s software bearing the plaintiff’s trademarks. The complaint alleges that the defendants offered pirated copies of the plaintiff’s software online, including the programs Textmaker®, Planmaker®, and Softmaker Presentations®. The plaintiff states that its software is protected by U.S. copyright laws and international treaties recognizing copyrights. The copyrighted software also bears the plaintiff’s trademarks. The complaint makes claims of copyright infringement, “circumvention of copyright protection measures,” trademark infringement and counterfeiting, false designation of origin, and unfair competition.

Practice Tip: This case was originally filed in the Southern District of California. The only allegation of a connection to California in the complaint is that defendant’s website was accessible there. The defendant succeeded in getting the case transferred to Indiana, the domicile of the defendant company.

This case has been assigned to Judge Jane E. Magnus-Stinson and Magistrate Judge Denise K. LaRue in the Southern District of Indiana, and assigned Case No. 1:11-cv-01574-JMS-DKL.CAComplaint

Further Information about the case is as follows

Filed: November 29, 2011 as 1:2011cv01574 Updated: November 30, 2011 02:35:46 Plaintiffs: SOFTMAKER ENTWICKLUNGS GMBH and SOFTMAKER SOFTWARE GMBHDefendants: DOES, SONNEY COLFAX and THIRD SCROLL PRODUCTS LLCPresiding Judge: Jane Magnus-StinsonReferring Judge: Denise K. LaRueCause Of Action: Copyright InfringementCourt: Seventh Circuit > Indiana > Southern District CourtType:Intellectual Property > Copyright