Articles Posted in New Litigation

 

Fort Wayne, Indiana – Patent lawyers for Romary Associates, Inc. of Fort Wayne, IN, filed a lawsuit alleging that Kibbi LLC d/b/a Renegade Custom Coaches and Trailers, McKibbin Enterprises, Inc., and Kibbi Incorporated, all of Bristol, IN, have infringed Patent No. 7,475,809, MOBILE BANKING VEHICLE, as issued by the U.S. Patent Office. Additional counts allege federal unfair competition, breach of contract, tortious interference with a business relationship, and misappropriation of trade secrets under state law.

Factually, the complaint alleges that, subsequent to the execution of a non-disclosure agreement, Romary disclosed its “mobile banking concepts and designs,” including a prototype, to the defendants. Afterwards, the defendants are said to have commenced selling their own mobile banking units, with the sales going to intended or potential Romary customers.

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Hammond, Indiana – Copyright lawyers for Zuffa, LLC d/b/a The Ultimate Fighting Championship of Las Vegas, NV, have filed a lawsuit alleging that Carol Papka of Valparaiso, IN, Philip Reiner of Wheeler, IN, and Daniel Kettwig of Valparaiso, IN, individually and as officers, directors, shareholders, and/or principals of Boomer’s Pub and Grub of Portage, IN, improperly received the UFC #111 broadcast. The complaint claims that the broadcast interception is a violation of 47 U.S.C. §§ 553 and 605(a), federal statutes which prohibit the unauthorized reception of certain communications, as well as a violation of the Copyright Act.

This case has been assigned to Judge Rudy Lozano and Magistrate Judge Andrew Rodovich in the Northern District of Indiana, and assigned case no. 2:10-cv-00422-RL-APR.
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 New Albany, Indiana – Trademark lawyers for Batesville Services, Inc. of Batesville, IN, initiated litigation alleging Cremation Options, LLC of Denver, CO, through content on its Web site, infringed Trademark Registration No. 1,922,043 for the mark OPTIONS, Trademark Registration No. 2,052,105 for the mark OPTIONS & Design, and Trademark Registration No. 2,344,840 for the mark OPTIONS, all of which have been registered by the U.S. Trademark Office in connection with cremation goods and services. The plaintiff also alleges infringement of catalog, video, and image copyrights which have been registered with the U.S. Copyright Officeand that the defendants’ registration of thewww.cremationoptions.comdomain name is a violation of the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act in light of the plaintiff’s priorwww.cremation-options.comdomain registration.
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Indianapolis, Indiana – Copyright counsel for Bedrock Builders Incorporated of Noblesville, IN, have filed a lawsuit alleging Town Square Homes LLC of Westfield, IN; Tony McLaughlin of Westfield, IN; and Tom Mayer and Erin Mayer of Fishers, IN, infringed technical drawings and architectural works which have been registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.

More particularly, residential architecture is the subject of the drawings and architecture, and the Mayers are alleged to have toured the plaintiff’s model homes in multiple times. Subsequently, the defendants are said to have created, or had created, technical drawings of a house, which was eventually constructed, that is substantially similar to the plaintiff’s flagship model toured by the Mayers.

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 South Bend, Indiana – Trademark attorneys for Knox Fertilizer Company, Inc., of Knox, IN, have filed a complaint in federal court requesting that a ruling that the company’s PLATINUM TURF FERTILIZER trademark for turf fertilizers is not likely to be confused with a registered mark and an application cited by the U.S. Trademark Office. In particular, the Knox mark is the subject of U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 77/029,965, which was refused by the examining attorney and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, based on U.S. Trademark Reg. No. 2,517,856 for the mark PLATINUM for perennial rye grass seed and U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 78/876,865 for the mark PLATINA for fertilizers and plant growth regulators. Knox points to differences in the appearance, sound, connotation, and commercial impression of the marks and the differences in the associated goods and channels of trade.
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Indianapolis, Indiana – Intellectual property counsel for Top Ten Imports, LLC of Indianapolis, IN, filed a trademark and copyright infringement suit against BMX Imports, L.P. of Farmers Branch, TX. Specifically, the plaintiff Top Ten alleges that the defendant has infringed Top Ten’s space heater trade dress as well as Trademark Reg. No. 3,654,284 for the mark IHEATER, registered with the U.S. Trademark Officein connection with electric space heaters, and copyrighted works protected under Application No. 1-501133071 and Application No. 1-501353066, both of which have been registered by the U.S. Copyright Officeand are directed to ornamental heater design.

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Indianapolis, Indiana – Patent lawyers for Eli Lilly and Company of Indianapolis, IN, have filed a lawsuit alleging Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Ltd. of Hyderabad, India, and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Inc. of Bridgewater, NJ, will infringe Patent No. 5,464,826, titled METHOD OF TREATING TUMORS IN MAMMALS WITH 2′,2′-DIFLUORONUCLEOSIDES, as issued by the U.S. Patent Office.

The ‘826 patent covers the drug marketed under the name GEMZAR(R) for the treatment of abnormal masses of tissue known as neoplasms. The complaint states that, in a separate lawsuit, the ‘826 patent was found invalid on grounds of obviousness-type double patenting, but that Lilly has appealed to the Federal Circuit and believes the ruling will be reversed. Assuming validity, the ‘826 patent is set to expire in late 2012, and a six-month period of FDA-granted market exclusivity follows. Lilly also holds approved New Drug Application No. 20-509 for the use of GEMZAR(R) as a treatment for certain types of cancer.
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Fort Wayne, Indiana – Intellectual property lawyers for Hydraulic Marine Systems, Inc. of Deland, FL, have filed a lawsuit alleging Mid-America Foundation Supply, Inc. d/b/a Poseiden Barge Corp. of Fort Wayne, IN, has infringed copyrights and trade dress as well as violated federal and state unfair competition laws.

In the filing, the plaintiff and defendant are said to have discussed the possibility of the defendant becoming an authorized distributor of plaintiff’s barge thrusters, with no such relationship being formed and the defendant ultimately purchasing such thrusters from the plaintiff. Subsequently, the defendant is alleged to have developed its own thruster using the plaintiff’s product as a template for infringing non-functional features. It is claimed that the defendant also copied the plaintiff’s instructions, which are registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, verbatim in addition to reproducing photographs and illustrations created by the plaintiff. The defendant then allegedly displayed its product at trade shows, with any information identifying the plaintiff having been removed.
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New Albany, Indiana – Copyright lawyers for DirecTV, Inc. of California have filed a suit alleging Jersey’s Cafe of Clarksville, IN, violated the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, 47 U.S.C. § 521, et seq. The plaintiff, a well-known distributor of satellite television programming, encrypts its broadcast transmissions and claims that the defendants, which include the principals of the cafe, willfully, and without a license, displayed National Football League games only available through a premium DirecTV service. The complaint also includes a cause of action for conversion, essentially the civil counterpart of theft under criminal law.

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South Bend, Indiana – As part of a continuing dispute, intellectual property counsel for Forest River, Inc.of Elkhart, IN, has filed a lawsuit accusing Heartland Recreational Vehicles, LLC of Elkhart, IN, of unfair competition, interference with contractual relations, and violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, among other claims.

The plaintiff, Forest River, manufactures and sells recreational vehicles (RVs) to dealers, who in turn sell the RVs to consumers, and has begun staging a private trade show in Elkhart. Defendant Heartland is a direct competitor. Allegedly, Heartland improperly obtained, through personal contact and mutual connections, Forest Park’s list of trade show guests, dealers said to be potential Forest River customers, and related proprietary information.

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