Indianapolis, Indiana – Copyright lawyers for The Saturday Evening Post Society, Inc. and Curtis Publishing, Inc., both of Indianapolis, IN, have initiated litigation alleging Hungry Howie’s Pizza & Subs, Inc. of Madison Heights, MI, has infringed the copyrighted Norman Rockwell painting FREEDOM FROM WANT, as registered by the U.S. Copyright Office under Copyright Reg. No. 576656 and Reg. No. R 500883.
The complaint alleges that the defendants misappropriated the well-known Rockwell work depicting a “multi-generational gathering of a family at a Thanksgiving dinner table” by adding marketing text and using it in a multi-state advertising campaign. In addition to infringement under the Copyright Act, plaintiffs bring causes of action for unfair competition under the federal Lanham Act, conversion (essentially the civil law version of theft), and unjust enrichment.
This case has been assigned to Senior Judge Larry J. McKinney and Magistrate Judge Debra McVicker Lynch in the Southern District of Indiana, and assigned case no. 1:10-cv-00680-LJM-DML.
Complaint – The Saturday Evening Post v. Hungry Howie’s
Further information about this case is as follows:
Filed: June 3, 2010 as 1:2010cv00680 Updated: June 5, 2010 00:34:25
Plaintiffs: CURTIS PUBLISHING, INC. and THE SATURDAY EVENING POST SOCIETY, INC.
Defendants: CAM INVESTMENTS, INC., COLUMBUS PIZZA, LLC, DANIEL BRIAN & ASSOCIATES, INC., ENKOFF ENTERPRISES, INC., HUNGRY HOWIE’S PIZZA & SUBS, INC. and others
Judge: Larry J. McKinney
Cause Of Action: Trademark Infringement (Lanham Act)
Court: Seventh Circuit > Indiana > Southern District Court
Type: Intellectual Property > Trademark