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December 7, 2017

Indiana Trademark Litigation: Purdue University Granted Injunction Against “Boilermaker Beer”

Tippecanoe County, Indiana – Attorneys for Plaintiff, The Trustees of Purdue University, filed suit in the Superior Court No.1 of Tippecanoe County, Indiana alleging that Defendant, Paul Parshall d/b/a Sports Beer Brewing Company, of Florida infringed its rights for use of the “Boilermakers Beer” and “Purdue Boilermakers Brewing” trademarks which were registered by the defendant. A Tippecanoe County Judge sided with Purdue University in an order dated November 9, 2017, and issued a Preliminary Injunction against the Defendant.

Defendant’s business is not a beer brewing company; rather, it is an Intellectual Property holding company whose portfolio consists of trademarks and service marks of various sports teams across the country. The company then works with breweries in different cities to provide beverages to customers with the chosen team’s logos, nicknames, and word marks on cups and other forms of packaging.

The Defendant has state trademark registrations in Indiana for the marks “Boilermakers Beer” and “Purdue Boilermakers Brewing.” Purdue University owns various registered federal trademarks for combinations of the words “Purdue,” “Boilermakers,” and “Boiler.”

December 6, 2017

Indiana Copyright Litigation: Richard Bell Sues Again On Copyright Claim Over Indianapolis Skyline Photo

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Indianapolis, Indiana – Attorney for Richard Bell of McCordsville, Indiana filed suit in the Southern District of Indian a alleging that Defendant, Keith Arnett infringed its rights in the “Indianapolis Photo” registered on August 4, 2011 with the US Copyright Office, Registration No. VA0001785115. Bell seeks injunctive relief along with statutory damages, costs and attorney fees.

Bell has filed many lawsuits on his own behalf asserting copyright infringement in Indiana federal courts. See:

This suit follows the same lines as the previous suits. Bell alleges copyright infringement and violations of the Lanham Act, stemming from the Defendant’s alleged unauthorized use of the copyrighted photo of the Indianapolis skyline. Plaintiff claims that Defendant used the photo on Defendant’s business website to help draw visitors to the website.

Plaintiff also alleges that Defendant falsely claimed that Defendant owned all copyrights for all photos appearing on the website. Bell even goes so far to allege that, by making the photo available for download on his website by third parties, Defendant is vicariously liable for any and all profits derived by third party users who downloaded the photo.

December 5, 2017

Court Of Appeals For Federal Circuit Denies Eli Lilly’s Appeal, Opens Door for Testosterone Generics

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

The Plaintiffs, Eli Lilly and Company, Eli Lilly Export S.A., and Acrux DDS Pty Ltd. had filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the Southern District of Indiana alleging that Defendants, Perrigo Company, Perrigo Israel Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Actavis Laboratories UT, Inc., FKA Watson Laboratories Inc., Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Lupin LTD infringed patent no. 8,435,944, Method and Composition for Transdermal Drug Delivery (the ‘944 patent) and 8,807,861, Spreading Implement, (the ‘861 patent), which have been issued by the US Patent Office.

The ‘944 patent “recites a transdermal delivery method of applying testosterone to the axilla of a patient.” The District Court ruled in favor of the Defendants and invalidated the ‘944 patent for obviousness based on prior art, and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed this decision. The Federal Circuit cited a lack of merit in Lilly’s appeal and a misreading of the district court’s decision.

The District Court upheld the validity of Lilly’s ‘861 patent, for an applicator that administers testosterone to the body. The Federal Circuit affirmed this decision as well, denying Cross-Appellant Amneal Pharmaceuticals’ appeal. Amneal’s version of the applicator was found to infringe on the ‘861 patent, and the Federal Circuit agreed. Amneal claimed that prior art invalidated the ’861 patent, but the Federal Circuit denied that argument.

November 10, 2017

Indiana Patent Litigation: Thor Industries Sues The RV Factory Over RV Patents

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Indianapolis, Indiana – Attorney for Plaintiff, Thor Industries, Inc. of Elkhart, Indiana filed suit in the Northern District of Indiana alleging that Defendant, The RV Factory, LLC, also of Elkhart, Indiana infringed on the U.S. Patent Nos. 7,575,251, titled Travel Trailer Having Improved Turning Radius (the ‘251 patent), and 7,938,427, titled Recreational Vehicle Chassis (the ‘427 patent). Plaintiff is seeking judgment in favor of Thor Industries, Inc., damages, and all infringing products be recalled.

Plaintiff is the owner of the patents, which deal with the design and functionality of travel trailers. Specifically, the ‘251 patent deals with an RV chassis having certain types of angled front corners, as opposed to squared corners. The ‘427 patent covers a type of chassis with a curved or bowed front end, instead of a flat or straight front.

According to the complaint, Defendant has been manufacturing and selling RVs with chasses containing the patented design elements. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant’s RV model “Luxe Luxury Fifth Wheel” infringes on the ‘251 patent. Plaintiff also alleges that Defendant’s “Luxe Elite,” “Luxe Gold,” and “Weekend Warrior” models infringe the ‘427 patent by using a curved forward surface.

Plaintiff also claims that Defendant has induced and contributed to infringement by third parties who have bought and used the allegedly infringing RVs.

April 10, 2017

Indiana Trademark Litigation: IHOP and Applebee’s Sued on Allegations of Infringement of Splenda Trademarks

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Indianapolis, Indiana – Heartland Consumer Products LLC and TC Heartland LLC, of Carmel, Indiana filed suit in the Southern District of Indiana alleging trademark and trade dress infringement, dilution and unfair competition under the Lanham Act, the Indiana State Trademark Act, and the common law of the State of Indiana.

At issue are trademarks covering Splenda®-brand sweetener, which has been approved for use in over 80 countries and used in more than 4000 products globally. In this Indiana litigation, Heartland claims that some or all of the following trademarks have been infringed: 1544079, 3346910; 4172135, 4165028, 4301712, 4172136, 4165029,4122311, 4187229, 4202774, 4230392, 4238101, 4106164, 4664653, and 4744600. These trademarks have been registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. In addition, Heartland claims ownership of the following pending applications for United States Trademark Registration Serial Nos. 86865337, 87012521, and 87010504.

Defendants in the lawsuit are DineEquity, Inc., Applebee’s Franchisor LLC, Applebee’s Restaurants LLC, Applebee’s Services, Inc., International House of Pancakes, LLC f/k/a International House of Pancakes, Inc., IHOP Franchising LLC, IHOP Franchise Company, LLC and IHOP Franchisor LLC. Plaintiff asserts that all Defendants have a principal place of business in Glendale, California. They are accused of leading customers to believe that they offer Splenda-brand sweetener when they do not. Plaintiff contends that instead of American-made Splenda, the product offered to the customers is, in fact, “a lower-quality product of China.”

Indiana trademark attorneys for Heartland sued in federal court. They assert:

Count I: Common Law Trademark Infringement and Trademark Infringement under 15 U.S.C. § 1114(1)
Count II: False Designation of Origin under 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)
Count III: Unfair Competition
Count IV: Trademark Dilution under 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c)
Count V: Trademark Dilution under I.C. 24-2-1-13.5
Count VII [sic]: Preliminary and Permanent Injunctive Relief
Count VIII: Corrective Advertising Damages

Plaintiff asks the court for injunctive relief, costs and attorneys’ fees. They also seek various types of damages, including actual, statutory, punitive and treble damages.

March 30, 2017

EFF Addresses Digital Rights Issues on the Horizon at the Supreme Court

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

The U.S. Supreme Court already has a list of digital civil liberties issues to consider in the near future; that list is likely to grow.

If confirmed, President Donald Trump’s nominee to fill the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat on the Supreme Court—Judge Neil Gorsuch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit—will be in a position to make crucial decisions protecting innovation and fair use. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has weighed in on several such issues that are, or may be, before the Court.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments in TC Heartland v. Kraft, a case centering on whether TC Heartland can have the infringement case against it considered in the company’s home state of Indiana instead of Delaware. EFF has supported TC Heartland, and a ruling in favor of reasonable venue limits could help tamp down on abusive patent lawsuits, which are often brought in the Eastern District of Texas despite any actual ties to that location because that court is perceived as being friendly to abusive suits.

March 23, 2017

Copyright Law: Registering a Work with the Copyright Office, Part II

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Who Can Register a Work with the U.S. Copyright Office?

Can foreigners register their works in the United States?

Any work that is protected by U.S. copyright law can be registered. This includes many works of foreign origin. All works that are unpublished, regardless of the nationality of the author, are protected in the United States. Works that are first published in the United States or in a country with which we have a copyright treaty or that are created by a citizen or domiciliary of a country with which we have a copyright treaty are also protected and may therefore be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. See Circular 38a, International Copyright Relations of the United States, for the status of specific countries, and Circular 38b, Copyright Restoration Under the URAA

March 15, 2017

Indiana Patent Litigation: Two Elkhart Vendors of RV Equipment to Litigate Dispute Over Vehicle-Leveling Patents

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

South Bend, Indiana – Days Corporation (“Days”) of Elkhart, Indiana filed a complaint asking the Northern District of Indiana to resolve infringement claims relating to three patents.

The lawsuit was brought against Lippert Components, Inc. (“LCI”), also of Elkhart, Indiana. Both Days and LCI operate in the recreational vehicle (“RV”) industry. They offer competing systems designed to level a vehicle, for example, one that is situated on uneven terrain causing the vehicle to be oriented on an undesirable plane.

At issue in this Indiana litigation are three patents, U.S. Patent Nos. 6,584,385 (“the ‘385 patent”), 6,885,924 (“the ‘924 patent”) and 6,619,693 (“the ‘693 patent”). LCI claims intellectual property protection under the ‘385 patent and the ‘924 patent, while Days claims rights under the ‘693 patent.

Each party asserts that the other party is committing patent infringement. Days asks the court for a declaratory judgment of non-infringement and patent invalidity of the LCI patents. It also seeks a judgment that LCI has infringed the ‘693 patent. The complaint, filed by a patent litigator for Days, lists the following claims:

Count I: Declaratory Judgment of Non-Infringement by Days of the ‘385 Patent
Count II: Declaratory Judgment of Non-Infringement by Days of the ‘924 Patent
Count III: Declaratory Judgment of Invalidity of the ‘385 Patent
Count IV: Declaratory Judgment of Invalidity of the ‘924 Patent
Count V: Infringement by LCI of the ‘693 Patent

In addition to a declaratory judgment and a judgment of infringement, Days seeks damages, including a trebling of those damages pursuant to a finding of willful infringement, and injunctive relief.

March 7, 2017

Indiana Copyright Litigation: Eleven Indiana BitTorrent Users Accused of Infringing Copyright of Motion Picture

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Hammond, Indiana – ME2 Productions Inc. of Carson City, Nevada, filed a lawsuit alleging copyright infringement of the action thriller Mechanic: Resurrection, which has been registered with the U.S. Copyright Office under U.S. Copyright Registration No. PA-1-998-057. The movie, which is the sequel to the 2011 action film Resurrection, stars Jason Statham, Jessica Alba and Tommy Lee Jones.

Eleven unnamed Defendants, listed as Doe Defendants 1-11, are accused of infringing the copyright of the film by distributing a “screener copy” illegally via BitTorrent, a file-sharing protocol. Plaintiff states that the 11 Defendants committed copyright infringement “in a collective and interdependent manner with other Defendants via the Internet for the unlawful purpose of reproducing, exchanging, and distributing copyrighted material.”

This litigation was commenced in the Northern District of Indiana by a copyright litigator for ME2 Productions. Plaintiff contends that the Doe Defendants are Indiana residents, stating that it determined through the use of geolocation technology that each had an Indiana Internet Protocol address.

Plaintiff seeks injunctive relief along with damages, costs and attorneys’ fees.

March 7, 2017

Patent Office to Present Seminar at Indianapolis Central Library on March 23

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Indianapolis, Indiana – The United States Patent and Trademark Office will be hosting a free program for up and coming independent inventors titled “Gender Gap in Patents”. Following the free program you can attend an educational training session in order to learn about Patent and Trademark basics. USPTO staff will be on site to answer your questions.

The program will be held on Thursday, March 23, 2017 at the Indianapolis Public Library – Central Library located at 40 East Saint Clair Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204.

The itinerary for the day will be as follows: