Indiana Intellectual Property Law News
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.
The first case has been assigned to Judge Sarah Evans Barker and Magistrate Judge Debra McVicker Lynch under Case No. 1:16-cv-01841-SEB-DML.
The second case has been assigned to Chief Judge Richard L. Young and Magistrate Judge Matthew P. Brookman, under Case No. 3:16-cv-00135-RLY-MPB.