INSD News

November 3, 2023

Preliminary Injunction Denied in Vandor Group, Inc. v. Batesville Casket Company Suit

Richmond, Indiana – In a recent legal case between Plaintiff, Vandor Group, Inc., and Defendant, Batesville Casket Company, Vandor sought a preliminary injunction against Batesville for alleged patent infringement concerning casket rental inserts. Vandor claimed that Batesville’s actions caused irreparable harm, impacting their expansion plans and profitability.

In its decision-making process, the Court applied Federal Circuit Law, which outlines four factors for determining whether a preliminary injunction is warranted: “(1) the movant’s reasonable likelihood of success on the merits; (2) the irreparable harm the movant will suffer if preliminary relief is not granted; (3) the balance of hardships tipping in its favor; and (4) the adverse impact on the public interest.”

The court primarily focused on irreparable harm and the likelihood of success, noting that irreparable harm is assumed when patent validity and infringement are established. However, the defendant can rebut this presumption by presenting evidence to the contrary. The judge ruled that Vandor’s claims of irreparable harm, based on lost expansion opportunities, potential economic losses, and the pending expiration of patents, were speculative and lacked substantial supporting evidence. Emphasizing that general assertions of economic harm without specific evidence are insufficient to prove irreparable harm, the court dismissed Vandor’s argument about the limited duration of their patents as a basis for irreparable harm, based on established legal precedent.

October 30, 2023

Mortgage Company Seeks FREEDOM From Alleged Trademark Infringement Suit

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

New Jersey Plaintiff, Freedom Mortgage Corporation, has filed a complaint against New Albany, Indiana Defendant, Freedompoint, LLC, for claims of trademark infringement and related unfair competition in the home mortgage and refinancing field.

According to the complaint, the Plaintiff has owned and used several FREEDOM trademarks since December 1992, and its subsidiary (Roundpoint Mortgage Servicing Corporation) has owned and used ROUNDPOINT marks for the last 13 years. The trademarks that are at issue in the lawsuit are the FREEDOM MORTGAGE trademark (Reg. No. 4,631,944), the FREEDOM MORTGAGE logo trademark (Reg. No. 4,631,946), the ROUNDPOINT trademark (Reg. No. 3,595,914), and ROUNDPOINT EXCHANGE (Reg. No. 5,172,847). According to Court documents, all the trademarks are specified for use in financial services, specifically the mortgage industry.

Freedom Mortgage alleges that the Defendant, Freedompoint, began using the word and design marks FREEDOMPOINT, FREEDOMPOINT MORTGAGE, and their FREEDOMPOINT logo as early as 2020. It is the Plaintiffs’ belief that the FREEDOMPOINT mark used by the Defendants in similar financial and mortgage services is a combination of its own FREEDOM MORTGAGE and ROUNDPOINT marks and, therefore, causes confusion among its customer bases. Furthermore, the Plaintiffs’ contend that the Defendants previously knew about the FREEDOM marks owned by the Plaintiff and have refused to cease-and-desist from using the alleged Infringing Marks.

October 27, 2023

Banjo Corporation Sues Green Leaf, Inc. Over Trademarked Yellow Handle

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Crawfordsville, Indiana – Plaintiff, Banjo Corporation (formerly known as Terra-Knife and Terra-Products) is suing Fontanet, Indiana company, Green Leaf, Inc. (also known as TerreMax) for Trademark infringement under 15 U.S.C. § 1114(1), unfair competition, use of false designations of origin and false advertising under 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a); as well as infringement and unfair competition under Indiana common law.

According to the complaint, Banjo is a leading business in the development and sales of commercial, industrial, and agricultural products, and is most widely known for its valves that regulate the flow of liquids in hoses and pipes. It claims its customers identify these valves by their distinctive yellow handle that is sold on all 150 types of control valves that they sell. Court documents show that Banjo has received a Trademark registration (No. 6,600,065) for the Yellow Handle Design specifically for “liquid handling products for commercial, industrial and agricultural use, namely control valves for regulating the flow of liquids in hoses and pipes.”

The Plaintiff alleges that Green Leaf, who sells similar valves but with green handles, recently hired two Banjo employees, and has launched a new division of its company called, TerreMax, which is not only very close in name to Banjo’s previous company names, Terre Knife and Terre Products, but it has also begun selling a line of control valves that have handles in the exact shade of yellow that Banjo uses for their product. The complaint claims that Green Leaf is acting “in a deliberate effort to encourage false associations with Banjo,” through its name change, handle color, and advertisements which point customers away from Banjo and toward Green Leaf’s nearly identical product.

October 20, 2023

Multiple Patents Allegedly Infringed Upon In Suit between Rogue Fitness and Bells of Steel USA, Inc.

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Columbus, Ohio – Plaintiff Coulter Ventures, LLC, d/b/a Rogue Fitness (“Rogue”) filed suit against Bells of Steel USA Inc., for alleged patent infringement of its fitness products in Bell’s sporting goods stores, including their Indianapolis, Indiana, Bells of Steel USA Showroom.

According to the complaint, Rogue Fitness owns several design and utility patents for fitness equipment, including Patent No. 11,173,337: “Weightlifting Assembly and Weight Rack Including Weightlifting Assembly”, Patent No. 10,226,661: “Weightlifting Rack Assembly and Wall Mount Bracket for a Weightlifting Rack Assembly,” Patent No. D992,063: “Wall Mounted Exercise Rack,” Patent No. D961,020: “Weight Plate,” and Patent No. RE49,513: “Barbell.” Rogue states that all these patented products are listed on the company’s website for the public to view at any time.

In the suit, the Plaintiff alleges that the Defendant has been purposely advertising, marketing, selling, manufacturing, and distributing products that are infringing on Rogue’s lawfully held patents. Rogue specifically identified 8 of the products Bells advertises as infringing upon the Plaintiff’s patents in their design and/or utility. The Plaintiffs claim that the Defendant relies on “making cheap copies of products and designs created by others and only later dealing with patent infringement.”

October 9, 2023

Joe Hand Promotions Sues Shift Restaurant and Bar for Cable and Satellite Piracy

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Feasterville, Pennsylvania – Plaintiff Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. is suing Lawrenceburg, Indiana Defendants Shift Restaurant and Bar, Matt Euson, and Nicholas Roberts for allegedly committing “Cable Piracy” and “Satellite Piracy” as is defined in the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. § 553 and U.S.C. § 605).

According to the complaint, Joe Hand Promotions is a company specializing in the licensing and distribution of premier sporting events to commercial establishments. Joe Hand states that it holds exclusive licensing rights to many televised sporting events, including the Ultimate Fighting Championships®. Since obtaining the rights to the Ultimate Fighting Championships in 2001, the Plaintiff claims they have entered into agreements with various U.S. restaurants, bars, lounges, clubhouses, etc., who have purchased the pay-per-view rights to commercially broadcast the Championships and other similar sporting events to their patrons.

On January 18, 2020 and again on August 15, 2020, two different Ultimate Fighting Championship fights were scheduled to be broadcast on pay-per-view television (Ultimate Fighting Championship® 246: Conor McGregor vs. Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Ultimate Fighting Championship® 252: Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier). The Plaintiff alleges that on both nights, the Defendants chose to circumvent the Plaintiff’s licensing rights and commercially broadcast the fights at Shift Restaurant without purchasing permission to do so. The Plaintiff claims the Defendants pirated the programming and infringed upon their right as the rightful owner of the distribution license.

September 29, 2023

Christopher Sadowski Claims Copyright Infringement for Award-Winning Photography

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

New Jersey – Plaintiff Christopher Sadowski is suing Defendant Restoration 1 By J&D, LLC, of New Palestine, Indiana, over violation of the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 501, for allegedly reproducing, distributing, and publicly displaying Sadowski’s intellectual property for its own commercial purposes.

According to the claim, Sadowski is an award-winning photojournalist with 19 years of experience in documenting ordinary life and the human condition through photography. His work has been commissioned in magazines and newspapers such as the New York Post, Daily Mail Online, Reader’s Digest, USA Today, New York Times, Fox News, CBS News, NBC News, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Los Angeles Times, Newsweek Magazine, and People Magazine. The complaint states that while the Plaintiff does sell limited, one-time use licenses to customers, he always retains copyright ownership of the photographs.

The suit accuses Restoration 1, a property damage restoration company, of using Sadowski’s photograph of Christmas lights on the Restoration 1 website without the proper licensing or permission to do so. The Plaintiff claims that the Defendant has never been licensed to use the photograph and upon learning of its unauthorized use, the Defendant has not been willing to negotiate a reasonable license for it. Furthermore, the complaint states that Restoration 1 displays a copyright disclaimer (“Copyright © 2017”) on the page of the website that contains the photo, allegedly asserting that Restoration 1 owns the rights to everything on the webpage, including the photo in question.

May 16, 2023

Crystal S. Wildeman Selected as Southern District of Indiana United States Magistrate Judge

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – The Honorable Tanya Walton Pratt, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, is pleased to announce the selection of Crystal S. Wildeman for the position of United States Magistrate Judge in the Evansville Division. Ms. Wildeman will fill the vacancy created by the recent elevation of the Honorable Matthew P. Brookman from Magistrate Judge to District Judge of the Southern District of Indiana.

A Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Committee, chaired by James D. Johnson of Jackson Kelly PLLC, and consisting of six other attorneys and two community members, reviewed numerous applications and recommended finalists for the position. The District Judges of the court interviewed the finalists and selected Ms. Wildeman.

Born in Evansville, Indiana, Ms. Wildeman is a 2003 graduate of Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, where she received Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees after double majoring in Psychology and Criminal Justice with a minor in Biology. In May 2006, Ms. Wildeman earned her law degree from DePaul College of Law in Chicago, Illinois. While in law school, Ms. Wildeman earned the Best Brief Award in DePaul’s Moot Court Competition and then was elected to serve as the Chief Justice of the Moot Court Society. She also served as the Case Notes Editor for the DePaul College of Law Health Care Law Journal and worked as a Summer Associate/711 Licensed Student-Attorney with the Chicago Transit Authority.

April 11, 2023

Matthew P. Brookman Sworn in as United States District Judge

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – The Honorable Tanya Walton Pratt, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, announced that Matthew P. Brookman was sworn in as a District Judge this morning. Senior District Judge Richard L. Young, whose seat Judge Brookman fills, administered the oath at the Winfield K. Denton Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Evansville, Indiana.

Judge Brookman was nominated by President Joseph R. Biden on January 3, 2023, and confirmed by the Senate on March 29, 2023. Prior to this appointment, Judge Brookman had served as United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Indiana since February 1, 2016. Chief Justice John G. Roberts appointed Judge Brookman to serve on the Criminal Law Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States in 2022.

Upon taking the oath, Judge Brookman stated, “I am grateful to have been nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate as a District Court Judge for the Southern District of Indiana, and I am excited to begin the important work of the United States District Court.”

December 8, 2022

Kendra Klump Selected as United States Magistrate Judge

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – The Honorable Tanya Walton Pratt, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, is pleased to announce the selection of M. Kendra Klump for the position of United States Magistrate Judge. Ms. Klump will fill the vacancy created by the recent elevation of the Honorable Doris L. Pryor from Magistrate Judge of the Southern District of Indiana to Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

A Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Committee, chaired by Sara J. Varner, First Assistant Federal Defender for the Indiana Federal Community Defenders, Inc. and consisting of 10 other attorneys and two community members, reviewed numerous applications and recommended finalists for the position. The District Judges of the court interviewed the finalists and selected Ms. Klump.

March 26, 2021

Honorable Tanya Walton-Pratt Sworn in as Chief Judge

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana is under new leadership. The Honorable Tanya Walton-Pratt was sworn in on March 20, 2021 and is the first person of color to serve as the Southern District of Indiana’s chief judge. She succeeds Judge Jane E. Magnus-Stinson. Chief Judge Pratt was appointed as a district judge on June 15, 2010, becoming the first African-American federal judge in Indiana history.

Chief Judge Pratt was elected Marion Superior Court Judge in November 1996. She also served as Master Commissioner for the Marion Superior Court since 1993 after practicing privately. From 1997 to 2008, Chief Judge Pratt served as Presiding Judge of the Criminal Division of the Superior Court, handling major felonies, presiding over 20 to 35 jury trials a year, as well as supervising the juvenile detention center. From 2008 until her appointment to the bench of the District Court, she served as a judge in the Marion Superior Court, Probate Division.