Indiana Intellectual Property Law News
Indianapolis, Indiana – An Indiana trademark lawyer for Plaintiff Klipsch Group, Inc. of Indianapolis, Indiana sued Defendant Steve Myers d/b/a HumanAudio in the Southern District of Indiana on allegations of trademark infringement and unfair competition.
Defendant HumanAudio, an eBay seller with its principal place of business in Studio City, California, is accused of offering “grey market” Klipsch products to the public. Klipsch contends that HumanAudio advertises “brand new” Klipsch audio products for sale via Defendant’s eBay store. However, Klipsch states, Defendant’s products are materially different from those purchased from an authorized distributor because the sale through Defendant’s unauthorized store voids the warranty that Klipsch normally provides to the original purchasers of its products. Klipsch also contends that HumanAudio removed the serial numbers on Klipsch goods and replaced them with fake serial numbers.
Klipsch alleges that Defendant has infringed three KLIPSCH trademarks: U.S. Trademark Registration Nos. 978,949; 2,917,215 and 3,863,511. In this Indiana federal lawsuit, the following claims are made:
• Count I: Federal Trademark Infringement in Violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1114
• Count II: Federal Unfair Competition in Violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1125
Plaintiff seeks equitable relief, damages, attorneys’ fees and costs.
This litigation has been assigned to Judge William T. Lawrence and Magistrate Judge Matthew P. Brookman in the Southern District of Indiana as Case No. 1:16-cv-01034-WTL-MPB.