Indiana Intellectual Property Law News
Indianapolis, Indiana – Attorneys for Plaintiff, Phocatox Technologies, LLC of Carmel, Indiana filed suit in the Southern District of Indiana alleging that Defendants, Jerry D. Wiersig of Foley, Alabama, Todd M. Hoffman of Edmond, Oklahoma, BioClean Remediation, LLC of Foley, Alabama, and BioClean Remediation, LLC of Edmond Oklahoma infringed the rights in United States Trademark Registration No. 3,351,509 for “BioSweep”. Plaintiff is seeking injunctive relief and judgment, including statutory damages and attorney’s fees.
Plaintiff operates under the business name “BioSweep” and manufactures and licenses odor removal and decontamination equipment. The name “BioSweep” is trademarked by the Plaintiff under registration No. 3,351,509.
In 2013, Defendant Bioclean of Alabama entered into a franchise agreement with Plaintiff and operated under the BioSweep name in the Gulf Coast area. The franchise agreement between the parties contained a number of clauses limiting the scope of Defendant’s use of the trademark and providing for recourse in case Defendant used the trademark impermissibly.
After the parties terminated the franchise agreement in November 2017, Plaintiff discovered that Defendants were advertising their own business at the domain www.biocleanremediationllc.com.
Plaintiff alleges that the website contains numerous references to the BioSweep trademark. Plaintiff alleges that this continued use of the BioSweep trademark makes Defendant liable for trademark infringement.
Plaintiff alleges a similar set of circumstances against BioClean of Oklahoma. Plaintiff alleges that Bioclean of Oklahoma continued using the BioSweep trademark after the termination of a franchise agreement between the parties.
The case was assigned to District Judge William T. Lawrence and Magistrate Judge Debra McVicker Lynch in the Southern District and assigned Case 1:18-cv-01298-WTL-DML.