Indiana Intellectual Property Law News
Indianapolis, Indiana – Attorney Richard Bell of McCordsville, Indiana filed suit in the Southern District of Indiana alleging Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (“ CF Foundation”),who conducts business in the district, infringed his rights in United States Copyright No. VA0001785115, the “Indianapolis Photo”. Bell is seeking actual and statutory damages, costs, attorneys’ fees, and any other relief as the court finds just and proper.
Bell claims he took the Indianapolis Photo in March 2000 and registered it with the U.S. Copyright Office in 2011. Since the registration of the Indianapolis Photo, Bell has filed numerous copyright infringement lawsuits over its use and publication by other parties. In this case, Bell claims he discovered CF Foundation’s use of the Indianapolis Photo in February 2019.
The Complaint asserts that CF Foundation published the Indianapolis Photo on its Website to promote a convention in Indianapolis. Bell has alleged that the CF Foundation has infringed because he believes he had the right to control and supervise the content and access of third-party Internet users to CF Foundation’s website as they utilized his photo. According to the Complaint, Bell believes CF Foundation “downloaded or took the Indianapolis Photo from the internet without” his permission and began publishing the Indianapolis Photo in or around 2013. Based on these allegations, Bell is seeking damages pursuant to 17 U.S.C. §§ 504 and 505.
The case was assigned to Senior Judge Sarah Evans Barker and Magistrate Judge Doris L. Pryor in the Southern District and assigned Case 1:19-cv-01285-SEB-DLP.