New Litigation

March 1, 2017

Indiana Trademark Litigation: Choice Hotels Alleges Former Franchisee is Infringing Econo Lodge Trademarks

Lafayette, Indiana – Choice Hotels International, Inc. of Rockville, Maryland sued in the Northern District of Indiana alleging trademark infringement under federal and Indiana law.

Choice Hotels is in the business of franchising hotels. It offers hotel and motel services under the following brands: CAMBRIA HOTELS & SUITES®, COMFORT INN®, COMFORT SUITES®, QUALITY®, SLEEP IN®, CLARION®, MAINSTAY SUITES®, SUBURBAN EXTENDED STAY HOTEL®, ECONO LODGE®, and RODEWAY INN®.

At issue in this Indiana trademark litigation is the Econo Lodge family of trademarks. These trademarks include U.S. Trademark Nos.:

February 23, 2017

Indiana Patent Litigation: Lilly Sues TWi Pharmaceuticals for Patent Infringement

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Indianapolis, Indiana – A patent lawyer for Eli Lilly and Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, Eli Lilly Export S.A. of Geneva, Switzerland and Acrux DDS, Pty Ltd. of West Melbourne, Australia filed an intellectual property lawsuit in the Southern District of Indiana.

Two Defendants are listed, TWi Pharmaceuticals, Inc. of Paramus, New Jersey and TWi Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. of Taipei, Taiwan. In a 28-count complaint, Defendants are accused of infringing seven patents by filing an Abbreviated New Drug Application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval of a generic version of the pharmaceutical product Axiron® before the expiration of the patents under which the drug is protected. The patents at issue in this litigation are U.S. Patent Nos. 8,435,944; 8,993,520; 9,180,194; 8,419,307; 8,177,449; 8,807,861 and 9,289,586.

The counts against Defendants include “direct patent infringement,” “inducement to infringe” and “contributory infringement” as well as counts requesting declaratory judgment. Lilly et al. are seeking declaratory relief, injunctive relief, costs and attorney fees.

February 21, 2017

Indiana Trademark Litigation: Vendors of Tanning Products in Dispute over “Beachin’ Life” Trademark

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Indianapolis, Indiana – Australian Gold, LLC of Indianapolis, Indiana sued in the Southern District alleging trademark infringement and unfair competition.

Plaintiff Australian Gold, which manufactures, distributes and sells tanning preparations, claims ownership to U.S. Federal Trademark Registration No. 5,130,366 for BEACHIN’ LIFE. It states that it has used this trademark since “at least 2016”; the trademark was issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on January 24, 2017.

Defendant in this Indiana lawsuit is Devoted Creations, Inc. d/b/a Ed Hardy Tanning of Oldsmar, Florida. Devoted Creations has introduced and is selling a #BEACHLIFE tanning preparation for the indoor tanning market.

February 17, 2017

Indiana Trademark Litigation: Trademark Dispute Between Two Veterans’ Museums Heads to Federal Court

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Evansville, Indiana – Henager Family Museum, Inc d/b/a National Veterans Memorial of Buckskin, Indiana filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of Indiana alleging trademark infringement.

Plaintiff operates a military memorial in Indiana under the trademark “NATIONAL VETERANS MEMORIAL,” U.S. Trademark Registration No. 3,420,974. That trademark was filed “in connection with promoting public awareness of the need for reconciliation and recognition by all veterans” and was issued on April 29, 2008 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

In this Indiana litigation, Henager states that Columbus Downtown Development Corp. (“CDDC”) of Columbus, Ohio is currently developing a museum, scheduled to open in 2018, to be operated under the name “NATIONAL VETERANS MEMORIAL & MUSEUM.” Henager states that CDDC’s use of this name in a state adjoining Indiana, and in conjunction with the offering of the same type of services, is likely to cause confusion or deceive consumers. It also contends that CDDC’s use of the purportedly similar name has resulted in CDDC being unjustly enriched at Henager’s expense.

January 12, 2017

Indiana Cable/Satellite TV Litigation: Fight Promoter Sues Billiard Hall for Interception of Championship Fight

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Terre Haute, Indiana – Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. of Feasterville, Pennsylvania has sued in the Southern District of Indiana alleging violations of 47 U.S.C. § 605 and 47 U.S.C. § 553.

Joe Hand Promotions specializes in distributing and licensing sporting events to commercial locations such as bars and restaurants. It is the exclusive domestic distributor of the Ultimate Fighting Championship® series of mixed-martial-arts fights.

Defendant in the lawsuit is Joseph Brush d/b/a Break Time Billiards of Terre Haute, Indiana. Brush has been accused of illegally intercepting and broadcasting Ultimate Fighting Championship® 198: Werdum v. Miocic, which was telecast nationwide on May 14, 2016.

January 9, 2017

Indiana Trademark Litigation: Klipsch Takes New “Gray Market” Dispute to Federal Court

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Indianapolis, Indiana – Klipsch Group, Inc. of Indianapolis, Indiana filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of Indiana alleging trademark infringement and unfair competition by a “gray market” seller of Klipsch audio equipment.

Defendant in this Indiana trademark litigation is listed only as “Concealedaudio.com,” as Klipsch indicates that the website’s proprietors “conceal[] their true identity from customers by using drop shipping addresses and registering their domain name through a third party.” Jurisdiction in Indiana is asserted on the grounds that, inter alia, Defendant sells infringing goods in Indiana.

Klipsch contends that Defendant interfered with its intellectual property rights in three Klipsch trademarks. The trademarks at issue are U.S. Trademark Registration Nos. 978,949; 2,917,215 and 3,863,511. These registrations, which have been issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, cover various forms of the KLIPSCH® trademark.

December 30, 2016

Indiana Trademark Litigation: Super 8 Sues Former Franchisees for Infringement

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Fort Wayne, Indiana – Super 8 Worldwide, Inc. f/k/a Super 8 Motels, Inc. of Parsippany, New Jersey sued in the Northern District of Indiana alleging trademark infringement and other wrongdoings.

Plaintiff Super 8 operates a franchise system for guest lodging. It claims ownership to the SUPER 8® service mark as well as various related trade names, trademarks and service marks, some of which have been registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. It estimates the value of the entity’s goodwill to exceed hundreds of millions of dollars.

In this Indiana intellectual property lawsuit, Super 8 alleges that former franchisees have violated the terms of a franchise agreement entered into with Super 8. Three Indianapolis Defendants were listed: Auburn Lodging Associates, LLP (“ALA”), Kokila Patel and Dilip Patel. A fourth Defendant Chicago Capital Holdings, LLC (“CCH”) of Hinsdale, Illinois was also named.

December 29, 2016

Indiana Patent Litigation: Lilly Defends Alimta Patent in Federal Court

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Indianapolis, Indiana – Eli Lilly and Company of Indianapolis, Indiana filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of Indiana alleging patent infringement.

Defendant is Hospira, Inc. of Lake Forest, Illinois. It has been accused of infringing U.S. Patent No. 7,772,209 (the “‘209 patent”) by the filing of a New Drug Application (“NDA”) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) seeking approval to manufacture and sell a pharmaceutical product, “Pemetrexed for Injection,” in various concentrations. In its filing with the FDA, Hospira contended that the claims of Lilly’s patent are “invalid, unenforceable, and/or not infringed by the manufacture, use, offer for sale, or sale of Hospira’s NDA Products.”

Lilly contends that this product will compete with Alimta®, which also consists of the pharmaceutical chemical pemetrexed disodium. Alimta is used as a chemotherapy agent to treat certain types of cancer.

December 27, 2016

Indiana Trademark Litigation: Carmel Golf Merchant Accused of Counterfeiting

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Indianapolis, Indiana – Plaintiffs Acushnet Company of Fairhaven, Massachusetts, Roger Cleveland Golf Company, Inc. of Huntington Beach, California and Dunlop Sports Co. Ltd. of Hyogo, Japan filed a trademark lawsuit in the Southern District of Indiana. This intellectual property litigation, commenced by an Indiana trademark litigator for Plaintiffs, was filed against both an individual and a business entity.

Listed as Defendants in this lawsuit are Giorgio Nunns a/k/a George Nunns a/k/a Georgie Nunns a/k/a Giorgio, an individual, and Custom Golf Solutions, LLC, individually and jointly, doing business under the names “bogie’s nearly new golf,” “gnunns81” and “golfcustomsolutions15.” Defendants operate in Indianapolis and Carmel, Indiana.

Defendants are accused of engaging in the sale of counterfeit products and infringing upon Plaintiffs’ trademarks. The following trademarks, to which Acushnet claims ownership and/or an exclusive license, are at issue:

Trademark	Registration No.	Registration Date	Class/Goods
	1,155,766	26 May 1981	IC 28: golf equipment, namely golf balls, golf clubs and golf bags.
	3,376,961	5 February 2008	IC 24: golf towels IC 25: golf clothing, namely jackets, shirts, hats and visors. IC 28: golf equipment, namely golf putters, golf club head covers, golf club grips and divot tools.
	2,620,432	17 September 2002	IC 28: golf clubs and accessories, namely golf tees, golf gloves, golf bags, golf putters, golf drivers, golf woods, golf irons, golf green repair tools, golf club covers and golf bag covers.
	3,421,373	6 May 2008	IC 28: golf equipment, namely golf bags.

December 23, 2016

Indiana Patent Litigation: Curling Iron Patents the Subject of Second Indiana Lawsuit

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Northern District of Indiana – The Beachwaver Co. of Libertyville, Illinois commenced intellectual property litigation in the Northern District of Indiana asserting infringement of patents pertaining to a rotating curling iron.

Defendant is T3 Micro, Inc. of Venice, California, which is accused of infringing Beachwaver’s U.S. Patent Nos. 9,398,796 (“the ‘796 patent”) and 9,504,301 (“the ‘301 patent”). These patents have been issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Both patents are titled “Hair Styling Device.” One of the two patents was the subject of at least one additional lawsuit in Indiana recently. That lawsuit, filed in October, covered only the ‘796 patent but included counts for both direct and induced infringement. In contrast, in this litigation, Indiana attorneys for Plaintiff list only one count of infringement for each of the two patents-in-suit: