Copyright Infringement Suit Filed Over Course Materials for “Recovering Money From Taxing Authorities”

Hammond, IN – Copyright attorneys for Abandoned Property, LLC have filed a copyright infringement suit against Netcentric Publishing. LTD. and Stacie Kellams and others. The lawsuit alleges that Abandoned Property developed a course called “We’re hooked on overages” that teaches people how to recover amounts owed to them by various taxing authorities. Allegedly, the Defendants “purchased a copy of Plaintiff’s phenomenal course in January, 2010, but did so under what appears to be an alias, “Luke Matthews.””The complaint then alleges that the Defendants began selling a competing Course that was “identical” to the Plaintiff’s Course for $997.00 each.

The suit alleges various causes of action including Copyright Infringement, Misappropriation of Trade Secrets, Breach of Contract, Fraudulent Inducement, Declaratory Judgment and “Vicarious Liability.”

This may be a retaliatory suit. On July 18, 2011, Netcentric Publishing’s lawyer filed a suit against Abandoned Property and Joe Kaiser in Austin, Texas asserting claims for business disparagement, defamation, fraud, and tortious interference with existing and prospective business relationships. That case is in the Western District of Texas, Cause No. 1:11-cv-602.

Practice Tip: Plaintiffs complaint appears to suffer from several defects. It does not explicitly allege that the Plaintiff owns a Copyright Registration for its work, which is a prerequisite to filing a copyright infringement suit pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 412. Also, it will be interesting to see how the Plaintiff can contend that its Course is a “trade secret,” in view of the fact that they make their Course available for purchase over the Internet. It is also not evident how the Plaintiff expects to assert personal jurisdiction over the defendants, who are in Texas.

This case has been assigned to Judge Robert Miller, Jr. and Magistrate Judge Paul Cherry in the Northern District of Indiana, and assigned Case No. 2:11-cv-00384-RLM-PRC.Abandoned Property Complaint

Filed: October 24, 2011 as 2:2011cv00384 Updated: October 26, 2011 03:00:14

Plaintiffs: Abandoned Property LLC and Richard J Dawson , Jr.

Defendants: Luke Matthews, Netcentric Publishing Ltd, REI Secrets, Stacy Kellams and Tax Sale Arbitrage

Referring Judge: Paul R Cherry

Cause Of Action: Copyright Infringement

Court: Seventh Circuit > Indiana > Northern District Court