New Litigation

August 23, 2016

Indiana Patent Litigation: RV Components Makers in Court Again Over Patent Covering Room Seal

South Bend, Indiana – Plaintiff Lifetime Industries, Inc. (“LTI”) of Elkhart, Indiana filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the Northern District of Indiana alleging that Defendant Trim-Lok, Inc. of Buena Park, California infringed Plaintiff’s patent for a “Two-Part Seal for a Slide-Out Room.”

The patent-in-suit, U. S. Patent No. 6,966,590 (the “‘590 patent”), has been issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Plaintiff states that it “currently produces, sells, and distributes two-part seals covered by the ‘590 patent” (collectively, “LTI Seals”), which are directed towards the addition of a slide-out room to a recreational vehicle. The LTI Seals include “a mounting portion and a separate bulb portion that slidably connects to the mounting portion.”

Plaintiff asserts that Defendant makes, uses, sells, and offers for sale a seal that, once installed on a recreational vehicle, infringes one or more claims of the ‘590 patent. Plaintiff indicates that it discovered this alleged wrongdoing by Defendant during a visit to Forest River, Inc., a manufacturer of recreational vehicles and mobile living quarters.

Plaintiff also contends that Defendant’s infringing behavior was knowing and intentional, citing in part two former LTI engineers who began work for Trim-Lok. These two engineers purportedly had knowledge of the ‘590 patent and LTI asserts that they “contributed to or designed” Defendant’s accused product.

In this lawsuit, filed by Indiana patent attorneys, the following counts are listed:

• Direct Infringement of the ‘590 Patent
• Induced Infringement of the ‘590 Patent

• Contributory Infringement of the ‘590 Patent

Plaintiff seeks damages, including treble damages, along with equitable relief, costs and attorneys’ fees.

Practice Tip: This is not the first instance of patent litigation between these parties. LTI sued Trim-Lok in 2013 alleging that Trim-Lok had infringed the same patent by offering another product.

August 19, 2016

Indiana Trademark Litigation: Get 2 Go, Its Operators and Related Stores Sued for Infringement

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Fort Wayne, Indiana – Attorneys for Plaintiffs North Atlantic Operating Company, Inc. and National Tobacco Company, L.P., both of Louisville, Kentucky, filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in the Northern District of Indiana alleging infringement of various registered trademarks covering ZIG-ZAG® roll-your-own cigarette papers and accessories. In addition to trademark infringement under federal law, Plaintiffs allege copyright infringement, false designation of origin and trade dress infringement under federal law as well as trademark infringement and unfair competition under Indiana common law.

Multiple Defendants, most of Fort Wayne, Indiana, are named in this intellectual property lawsuit: KPC Distributor Inc.; Kuldeep Singh; Paramjit Singh; Charanjit Singh; Burger’s, Inc., d.b.a. Burger Dairy; JGM Stores Inc., d.b.a. Burger Dairy II; Kirandeep, Inc., d.b.a. Crescent Corner Express; KSL Stores Inc., d.b.a. Get 2 Go #10; KSL Holdings Inc., d.b.a. Get 2 Go #13; Coliseum Quick Mart Inc., a.k.a. Get 2 Go #15; Calhoun Store Inc., a.k.a. Get 2 Go 16; KPC Brothers Inc., a.k.a. Get 2 Go #17 d.b.a. Get 2 Go; Get 2 Go #18; Virk Brothers Enterprises Inc., a.k.a. Get 2 Go 19, d.b.a. Shell Get 2 Go #19; JAT Boyz Stores Inc., a.k.a Harlan Quick Stop; KPC Investments LLC, a.k.a. Iceway Express; John Does 1-10; and XYZ Companies 1-10.

At issue in this Indiana lawsuit are the following trademarks: Registration No. 610,530 for ZIG-ZAG (stylized), Registration No. 1,127,946 for ZIG-ZAG (text), Registration No. 2,169,540 for Smoking Man (design with circle border), Registration No.2,169,549 for Smoking Man (design with no border), Registration Nos. 2,664,694 and 2,664,695 for North Atlantic Operating Company, Inc. (design), and Registration Nos. 2,610,473 and 2,635,446 for North Atlantic Operating Company (text), all of which have been registered by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The ZIG-ZAG trademarks are owned by a French company, Bolloré, S.A., which is not a party to this litigation, and are licensed to Plaintiff North Atlantic.

Defendants are accused of engaging in a widespread scheme to acquire, sell and/or distribute counterfeit products bearing various registered trademarks and/or copyrighted text that Plaintiffs allege is protected by law. This text includes the phrase “Distributed by North Atlantic Operating Company, Inc.”

Plaintiffs further contend that one or more Defendants’ conduct was willful. They contend that this was demonstrated on more than one occasion when a North Atlantic representative requested a receipt for the purchase of accused goods and this request was refused. On one occasion, when the representative insisted on a receipt, Plaintiffs state that “Defendant KPC Distributor ripped the receipt in two pieces, keeping the piece that displayed Defendant KPC Distributor’s contact information for itself.”

In this Indiana intellectual property lawsuit, filed by trademark litigators for Plaintiffs, Defendants are accused of having sold “dozens of cartons and hundreds of booklets of confirmed counterfeit ZIG-ZAG® Orange to undercover North Atlantic representatives.” Plaintiffs state the following claims:

• Federal Trademark Infringement (15 U.S.C. § 1114)
• False Designation of Origin and Trademark/Trade Dress Infringement (15 U.S.C. § 1225(a))
• Federal Copyright Infringement (17 U.S.C. §§ 101 et seq.)
• Common Law Unfair Competition

• Common Law Trademark Infringement

Plaintiffs ask the federal court for damages, injunctive relief, costs and attorneys’ fees.

August 10, 2016

Indiana Copyright Litigation: Design Basics Sues Fort Wayne Homebuilders

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Fort Wayne, Indiana – Design Basics, LLC of Omaha, Nebraska filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in the Northern District of Indiana. Defendants, located in Fort Wayne, are KAM Construction, LLC, KAM Construction, Inc., KAM AKAY Enterprises, LLC and Kamran Mirza, the owner of the three other Defendants.

Plaintiff Design Basics states that it is engaged in the business of creating, marketing, publishing and licensing the use of architectural works and technical drawings depicting those architectural works. At issue in this litigation are the following architectural works, which have been registered with the U.S. Copyright Office:

Title	Registration Certificate Nos.
Plan No. 3064 – Eldridge	VA 624-107, 624-108 & 1-093-811

Defendants in this lawsuit are Indiana homebuilders. They are accused of having published, distributed, marketed and advertised floor plans that infringe Plaintiff’s copyrighted works. Those accused plans are marketed by Defendants as Monte Carlo and Monte Carlo 3.

Indiana copyright attorneys for Plaintiff list a single cause of action: copyright infringement. The court has been asked to order damages, equitable relief, costs and attorneys’ fees.

August 8, 2016

Indiana Cable/Satellite Litigation: Dish Network Accuses Indiana Pair of Pirating Satellite Signal

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Northern District of Indiana – Plaintiffs DISH Network LLC, EchoStar Technologies L.L.C. and NagraStar LLC, all of Englewood, Colorado, sued in the Northern District of Indiana contending that Defendants Paulette Kincaide and Linnis Kincaide of Gary, Indiana wrongfully intercepted satellite signals.

Defendants are accused of circumventing DISH Network’s security system and receiving copyrighted satellite programming without having paid the required subscription fee. Plaintiffs contend that this was accomplished by purchasing decryption keys from NFusion Private Server, a pirate television service.

In this Indiana lawsuit, filed by intellectual property lawyers for Plaintiffs, the following causes of action are alleged:

• Count I: Circumventing An Access Control Measure In Violation Of The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 1201(a)(l)
• Count II: Receiving Satellite Signals Without Authorization in Violation of the Federal Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. § 605(a)

• Count III: Intercepting Satellite Signals in Violation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2511(1)(a) and 2520

Plaintiffs claim that Defendants’ actions have caused “actual and imminent irreparable harm for which there is no adequate remedy at law.” They further contend that violations were willful and for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain.

Plaintiffs ask the federal court for an award of damages, including enhanced damages, as well as injunctive relief and reimbursement of costs, investigative expenses and attorneys’ fees.

August 4, 2016

Indiana Patent Litigation: Interactive Alleges Patent Misuse, Sues Patent Licensor

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Indianapolis, Indiana – Patent attorneys for Plaintiff Interactive Intelligence, Inc. of Indianapolis, Indiana filed a lawsuit for declaratory judgment in the Southern District of Indiana against Defendant Avaya, Inc. of Santa Clara, California. At issue in this litigation is the proper scope of a patent licensing agreement between Plaintiff and Defendant.

In 2002, Interactive and Avaya agreed to license patents covering Avaya’s “call center” products. In exchange for this license, Interactive agreed to pay Avaya a royalty based upon Interactive’s sales. The patents-in-suit, which have been issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office are as follows: U.S. Patent Nos. 5,802,058; 5,982,873; 6,009,386; 6,052,460; 6,173,399; 6,192,050; 6,208,970; 6,389,132; 6,392,666; 6,535,601; 6,560,330; 6,636,598; 6,665,395; 6,754,331; 6,850,602; 6,925,166; 7,023,980; 7,215,760; 7,542,558; 7,685,102; 7,702,083; 7,990,899; 8,107,401; 8,379,819; 8,897,428; 9,049,291; and 9,154,629.

In this federal complaint, filed by Indiana patent lawyers, Interactive states that, since 2002, its revenue has expanded to include many sources other than call center software, including “hardware resales, software maintenance and support, training, [and] subscription services for cloud based hosting.” It also contends that a “sizeable portion” of its revenue now comes from business outside of the United States.

Interactive claims that Avaya has misused its patents and misconstrued the agreement to require Interactive to pay royalties based on Interactive’s “global sales.” It argues that sales that are outside of the scope of Avaya’s patents, as well as at least some of its foreign sales, should not be subject to a royalty under the agreement. Interactive further asserts that Avaya’s “threats of potential patent infringement litigation resulted in Interactive paying significantly more than $1,000,000 in excess payments” under the agreement.

This lawsuit seeks a declaration of patent misuse by Avaya, as well as a declaration that Interactive does not infringe any of the patents asserted by Avaya. Interactive also seeks restitution and/or damages, costs and attorneys’ fees.

July 29, 2016

Indiana Trademark Litigation: Lilly Sues Australian Seller of Gray-Market Veterinary Products

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Indianapolis, Indiana – Trademark attorneys for Eli Lilly and Company of Indianapolis, Indiana and Novartis Tiergesundheit AG of Basel, Switzerland filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of Indiana alleging trademark infringement and unfair competition.

Plaintiffs offer pet medications, such as flea-control and heartworm treatments, for sale in the U.S. and other countries worldwide. Among these medications are the following trademarked products, which have been registered by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office:

ELANCO, registration number 710,473
COMFORTIS, registration number 3,370,168
INTERCEPTOR, registration number 2,015,850
CAPSTAR, registration number 2,510,863

TRIFEXIS, registration number 3,944,743

Plaintiffs allege that Defendants Scott Martin d/b/a Best Value Pet Supplies of Queensland, Australia and various unknown “Doe” Defendants infringed the trademarks at issue by selling in the U.S. trademarked products that were intended for sale in other countries via their website, www.bestvaluepetsupplies.com.

Plaintiffs contend that these products are materially different from products intended for sale in the U.S., citing differences such as different units of measure as well as non-U.S. addresses and telephone numbers listed on packaging as contact information.

In this Indiana trademark lawsuit, the following counts are alleged:

• Count I: Trademark Infringement in Violation of Section 32 of the Lanham Act
• Count II: Unfair Competition in Violation of Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act
• Count III: Unfair Competition in Violation of Indiana Common Law

Plaintiffs contend that Defendants’ conduct was willful and ask the court to order equitable relief, as well as the payment of compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and costs of this litigation.

July 25, 2016

Indiana Copyright Litigation: Creator of Architectural Designs Files Two New Copyright Lawsuits

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Southern District of Indiana – Copyright lawyers for frequent litigant Design Basics, LLC of Omaha, Nebraska filed two additional intellectual property lawsuits in the Southern District of Indiana alleging copyright infringement.

Plaintiff is engaged in the business of creating, marketing, publishing and licensing the use of architectural works and technical drawings of those works. Defendants are Indiana home designers and homebuilders.

The first lawsuit lists Defendant as T.K. Constructors, Inc. of St. Delaware County, Indiana. In the second lawsuit, two Defendants are listed, Regal Homes of Southern Indiana, L.L.C. of Warrick County, Indiana and The Home Plan Co., LLC of Vanderburgh County, Indiana.

Each Defendant is charged with the violation of a single copyrighted work. Design Basics asserts that T.K. Constructors, Inc. violated the copyright Design Basics’ “Lancaster” plan, which has been registered with the U.S. Copyright Office under Registration Nos. VA 371-204, 694-094 and 756-041.

Defendants in the second lawsuit are accused of violating a copyrighted work titled “Briarwood,” which was registered under Reg. Nos. VA 624-144, VA 726-369 and VA 624-143. This complaint lists eight counts, four asserting “Non-Willful Copyright Infringement” and four alternatively asserting “Willful Copyright Infringement.”

Defendants in each lawsuit are accused of having infringed the copyrighted architectural works by “copying, publishing, distributing, advertising, marketing, selling and/or constructing in the marketplace” various works, such as plans, drawings and houses, that were copied or otherwise derived from Plaintiffs’ copyrighted works.

Plaintiff seeks damages, equitable relief, costs and attorneys’ fees.

July 20, 2016

Indiana Copyright Litigation: Design Basics Files Three New Indiana Copyright Lawsuits

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Northern District of Indiana – Copyright lawyers for Plaintiff Design Basics, LLC of Omaha, Nebraska filed three intellectual property complaints in the Northern District of Indiana alleging copyright infringement.

Plaintiffs are in the business of creating, marketing, publishing and licensing the use of architectural works and technical drawings of those works. Defendants are Indiana home designers and homebuilders.

Defendant in the first lawsuit is Miller Builders Inc. of St. Joseph County, Indiana. In the second lawsuit, two Defendants are listed, Citation Homes, Inc. and Citation Partners, LLC d/b/a Citation Partners, both of Tippecanoe County, Indiana. Defendants in the third lawsuit are Sky Hill Homes, Inc., By Larry Myers d/b/a Sky Hill Homes; Sky Hill Enterprises, LLC; Fall Creek Homes, Inc.; Fall Creek Development Corp. and Barry Light, all of Allen County, Indiana. W. L. Martin Home Designs LLC of Jacksonville, Florida joined as a second Plaintiff in the Sky Hill litigation.

Design Basics asserts that Miller Builders violated the copyright of a single work titled “Plan No. 2244 – Standley,” which has been registered with the U.S. Copyright Office under Certificate Nos. VA 434-218 and 752-162.

Defendants in the Citation and Sky Hill lawsuits are accused of violating multiple copyrighted works. Design Basics contends that Citation Defendants infringed copyrights in the following works:

Title Registration Certificate Nos.
Plan No. 1330 – Trenton VA 314-016, 694-094 & 756-041
Plan No. 1380 – Paterson VA 314-024 & 694-094
Plan No. 1748 – Sinclair VA 371-214, 694-094 & 726-353
Plan No. 1752 – Lancaster VA 371-204, 694-094 & 756-041

Design Basics and Martin Home Designs list numerous allegations of copyright infringement in the lawsuit against the Sky Hill Defendants:

Title Registration Certificate No.
Plan No. 1019 – Hazelton VA 314-029, 726-355 & 694-093
Plan No. 1032 – Monte Vista VA 282-203 & 752-162
Plan No. 1551 – Logan VA 344-872 & 752-162
Plan No. 2219 – Shannon VA 434-181, 752-162 & 1-950-217
Plan No. 2235 – Albany VA 1-929-121, 434-219 & 756-041
Plan No. 2281 – Ingram VA 434-179, 752-162 & 1-3340447752
Plan No. 3577 – Bennett VA 682-208, 682-207, 694-095 & 710-605
Plan No. 4642 – Ackerly VA 1-302-564
Plan No. 8013 – Gabriel Bay VA 729-243 & 729-218
Plan No. 8031 – Robins Lane VA 729-280 & 729-256
Plan No. 8103 – Deer Crossing VA 726-352 & 726-446
Plan No. 8524 – Elgin VA 1-074-917 & 1-077-469

Defendants in each lawsuit are accused of having infringed the copyrighted architectural works by “copying, publishing, distributing, advertising, marketing, selling and/or constructing in the marketplace” various works, such as plans, drawings and houses, that were copied or otherwise derived from Plaintiffs’ copyrighted works.

Plaintiffs seek damages, injunctive relief, costs and attorneys’ fees.

July 18, 2016

Indiana Trademark Litigation: Eye 4 Group Sues Over Use of Eyefourgroup.com

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Indianapolis, Indiana – Trademark attorneys for Eye 4 Group, LLC Corporation (“E4G”) of Fishers, Indiana filed an intellectual property lawsuit in the Southern District of Indiana. Defendants are Indianapolis Signworks, Inc. (“ISW”) of Indianapolis, Indiana and Andrew Chapman of Carmel, Indiana, the owner of ISW.

Plaintiff E4G is in the business of graphic design, sign manufacturing, metal fabrication, promotional material and apparel. It owns a registration for the trademark EYE 4 GROUP, Reg. No. 4,694,655, which has been issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. It has also an application for the registration of a second trademark for EYE 4, pending under Serial No. 87/018,205.

E4G states that Defendant ISW is a direct competitor in the business of making signs as well as associated tools and products. E4G, which owns and operates the website eye4group.com, contends that ISW has used the internet domain name “eyefourgroup.com” and, in doing so, has infringed E4G’s intellectual property. E4G asserts that Defendants’ actions constitute a knowing infringement of its trademark rights and that those actions were intentional, willful and in bad faith.

In this Indiana lawsuit, Plaintiff alleges direct and contributory trademark infringement, false designation of origin, and unfair competition arising under the Lanham Act; dilution under the Federal Trademark Dilution Act; violations of the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act and related wrongdoing under Indiana state law.

Plaintiff seeks injunctive relief and monetary relief, including punitive damages, attorney fees and costs of the litigation.

July 8, 2016

Indiana Patent Litigation: Lilly Alleges Infringement, Sues Generic Drugmakers

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Indianapolis, Indiana – Patent lawyers for Plaintiffs Eli Lilly and Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, Eli Lilly Export S.A. of Geneva, Switzerland and Acrux DDS Pty Ltd. of West Melbourne, Australia initiated patent infringement litigation in the Southern District of Indiana.

Defendants are Apotex Corp. of Weston, Florida and Apotex Inc. of Ontario, Canada. Both companies manufacture, market and distribute generic pharmaceutical products. This lawsuit was initiated in response to an Abbreviated New Drug Application submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval to market a generic version of Lilly’s Axiron®, a prescription testosterone product used to treat males for conditions associated with a deficiency or absence of endogenous testosterone.

Defendants are accused of infringing Plaintiffs’ intellectual property rights in seven patents: U.S. Patent Nos. 8,419,307; 8,177,449; 8,435,944; 8,807,861; 8,993,520; 9,180,194 and 9,289,586.

In a 28-count complaint, filed by Indiana patent attorneys for Plaintiffs, 21 counts of patent infringement are listed, including a count of direct infringement, a count of inducement to infringe and a count of contributory infringement for each of the seven patents-in-suit. The remaining seven counts seek declaratory judgment of infringement of each of the seven patents.

In addition to relief for the wrongdoings alleged in the 28 counts, Plaintiffs seek reimbursement of the costs and attorneys’ fees associated with this lawsuit.