Indiana Intellectual Property Law News
Indianapolis, Indiana – The Plaintiff, Van Ausdall & Farrar, Inc. (“VAF”), is apparently one of Indiana’s oldest privately owned office-solutions companies. According to the Complaint, Defendant, Jane Doe aka Denise Gilbey Moe (“Defendant” or “Moe”), was employed by VAF until October 2018. Due to the nature of Moe’s position, she was allegedly granted access to VAF’s social media accounts including its Facebook page during her employment. VAF claims its Facebook page has economic value as it uses the page to market and promote its products and services. Apparently, Moe’s access to VAF’s social media accounts ended when her employment was terminated on October 4, 2018.
Per the Complaint, VAF’s Facebook page was accessed by Defendant on June 1, 2021 using an account with the name “Denise Gilbey Moe.” While Moe apparently denies accessing VAF’s Facebook after her termination, VAF claims the account appears to be owned and controlled by Moe.
VAF claims it was injured as Defendant added photos to VAF’s Facebook page, changed the name of the page to “6546,” removed VAF’s phone number and web address, and scheduled the Facebook page for deletion. While VAF apparently took actions to prevent the deletion, they were unsuccessful and VAF’s Facebook page was deleted, which destroyed VAF’s intellectual property and caused economic harm to VAF. Due to this harm, VAF filed a police report detailing the incident on June 2, 2021.
VAF asserts Defendant’s actions violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1030(a)(2)(C), 1030(a)(5)(B), and 1030(a)(5)(C). VAF further claims the intentional modification of the information on VAF’s Facebook page constitutes an Offense Against Intellectual Property under Ind. Code § 35-43-1-7. Because VAF did not consent to Defendant accessing its Facebook page, VAF is seeking damages for Computer Trespass pursuant to Ind. Code § 35-43-2-3(b) and Ind. Code § 34-24-3-1 et seq. VAF claims the intentional destruction of its Facebook page by scheduling and successfully deleting the page constitute an Offense Against Computer Users under Ind. Code § 35-43-1-8. Finally, VAF claims the interference with its possession and use of its Facebook page constitutes Criminal Trespass pursuant to Ind. Code § 35-43-2-2(b)(4).
The case was assigned to Senior Judge Sarah Evans Barker and Magistrate Judge Matthew P. Brookman in the Southern District and assigned Case No. 1:21-cv-01861-SEB-MPB.