Indiana Intellectual Property Law News
Indianapolis, Indiana – Attorney Richard Bell of McCordsville, Indiana filed suit in the Southern District of Indiana alleging The Rainmaker Group – Rent Jungle LLC (“Rainmaker”) 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 the court may find just and proper.
Bell, an attorney and self-proclaimed professional photographer claims he took the Indianapolis Photo in March 2000. The Complaint alleges that since then, Bell has published or licensed the Indianapolis Photo in compliance with copyright laws. After registering his work with the U.S. Copyright Office, Bell has filed a substantial number of lawsuits concerning copyright infringement of the Indianapolis Photo.
The Complaint alleges Rainmaker published the Indianapolis Photo on its website to attract prospective customers. Bell claims he discovered Rainmaker’s use of the Indianapolis Photo on December 14, 2017 and that it was visible to viewers of its website on March 7, 2019. Bell is seeking a judgment for copyright infringement and vicarious liability for each and every copy of the Indianapolis Photo that was downloaded from Rainmaker’s website by each third-party Internet user, including damages pursuant to 17 U.S.C. §§ 504 and 505, and 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a).
The case was assigned to District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt and Magistrate Judge Matthew P. Brookman in the Southern District and assigned Case 1:19-cv-01326-TWP-MPB.