Indiana Intellectual Property Law News

May 18, 2020

Texas Photographer Sues Gray Television for Alleged Copyright Infringement

South Bend, Indiana – Kevin Jairaj (“Jairaj”), the Plaintiff, claims to be a professional photographer in the business of licensing his photographs including one of Olympic gold medalist McKayla Maroney (the “Photograph”). Jairaj claims to have registered the Photograph with the U.S. Copyright Office and granted Copyright Registration No. VA 2-112-984. According to the Complaint, Defendant Gray Television ran multiple articles on its websites regarding the alleged sexual abuse of McKayla Maroney featuring the Photograph without a license. Jairaj is seeking damages and statutory relief for copyright infringement pursuant to 17 U.S.C. §§ 106 and 501 and intentionally removing copyright management information pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 1202.

The case was assigned to District Judge Robert L. Miller, Jr., and Magistrate Judge Michael G. Gotsch, Sr. in the Northern District and assigned Case 3:20-cv-00156-RLM-MGG.

Complaint

May 11, 2020

Yellow Fellow Safety Sign at Heart of Patent Infringement Suit

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

New Albany, Indiana – Pro se Plaintiff, Eddie M. Green Jr., of Jeffersonville, Indiana, filed suit in the Southern District of Indiana alleging that Defendants, Chain Vault Inc. and its owner, Ara Yavruyan, infringed his rights in United States Patent No. 9,940,796 (the “‘796 Patent”) for “Yellow Fellow Safety Sign.” The ‘796 Patent, issued on April 10, 2018, claims a portable wet floor sign made for the blind and hearing impaired with a motion sensor, a rotating camera, a voice box, a moisture sensor, and various flashing lights. According to the Complaint, Plaintiff’s “business start-up has been stopped” and his product’s name has been damaged due to the Defendants’ infringing actions. Mr. Green estimates the minimum amount in controversy to be $2.8 million.

The case was assigned to District Judge Tanya W. Pratt and Magistrate Judge Debra McVicker Lynch in the Southern District and assigned Case 4:20-cv-00052-TWP-DML.

Complaint

May 8, 2020

Photographer Seeks Damages for Alleged Copyright Infringement of Horse Photograph

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Fort Wayne, Indiana – George Matula (“Matula”), the Plaintiff, claims to be a professional photographer in the business of licensing his photographs for a fee. Matula allegedly photographed a horse and registered the photograph as U.S. Copyright No. VA 2-154-421 (the “Photograph”) in 2018. According to the Complaint, Defendant Triple H Magazine ran the Photograph in its publication without licensing the Photograph from Matula in violation of the U.S. Copyright Act. Therefore, Matula is seeking damages for copyright infringement pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 504(b).

The case was assigned to District Judge Holly A. Brady and Magistrate Judge Susan L. Collins in the Northern District and assigned Case 1:20-cv-00071-HAB-SLC.

Complaint

May 7, 2020

Williamsburg Furniture Claims Lippert Patent is Invalid and/or Unenforceable

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

South Bend, Indiana – Attorneys for Plaintiff, Williamsburg Furniture, Inc. (“Williamsburg”) of Nappanee, Indiana originally filed suit in the District Court of Delaware seeking a declaratory judgment of non-infringement against Defendant, Lippert Components, Inc. (“Lippert”) claiming Lippert’s United States Patent No. 8,739,330 (the “‘330 Patent”) is invalid and/or unenforceable. Williamsburg is also seeking judgment for false advertising and unfair competition as it claims Lippert informed Williamsburg’s customers of the alleged patent infringement and caused Williamsburg to lose sales. Upon motion by Lippert, the case was transferred to the Northern District of Indiana.

According to the Complaint, the invention claimed in the ‘330 Patent for a tri-fold sofa was publicly disclosed, in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public through third parties not associated with the ‘330 invention more than one year prior to the filing of the provisional patent application. For instance, Patrick Hutmacher claims he purchased a tri-fold chair/bed in August 2010 from a furniture store in McHenry. One month later, a person from the McHenry furniture store allegedly brought a second tri-fold chair/bed to Mr. Hutmacher at his place of employment, Flair Interiors, Inc. (“Flair”), in an attempt to supply the products to the company.

May 6, 2020

176 Trademark Registrations Issued to Indiana Companies in April 2020

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Overhauser Law Offices the publisher of this site, assists with U.S. and Foreign Trademark searches, Trademark Applications and assists with enforcing Trademarks via Infringement Litigation and Licensing.

	Reg. Number	Word Mark
1	6044389	CAMPAIGN AD-CLOUD
2	6042101	PASIC
3	6042098	KEEP MI SMILE
4	6041679	FOOTFIXR
5	6041624	WEIRD WAVES PODCAST
6	6041422	GONZO MUSEUM
7	6041419	GONZO GALLERY
8	6041347	LONGVIDA OPTIMIZED CURCUMIN
9	6044127	DIAMOND SHINE
10	6044098	JUST ONE PENNY

May 5, 2020

Patent Office Issues 189 Patents To Indiana Citizens in April 2020

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

The U.S. Patent Office issued the following 189 patent registrations to persons and businesses in Indiana in April 2020, based on applications filed by Indiana patent attorneys:

	Patent No.	Title
1	D0882736	Faucet handle
2	D0882276	Nonwoven fabric
3	10,637,388	Motor drive with moisture control features
4	10,637,387	Motor control device
5	10,636,583	Material property capacitance sensor
6	10,634,677	Use of acamprosate to modulate ERK1/2 activation in animal models for FXS and ASD and individuals diagnosed with FXS and ASD
7	10,634,659	Test strip ejector for medical device
8	10,634,579	Methods and apparatus for detecting position of a liquid
9	10,634,549	Hospital bed scale calibration methods and patient position monitoring methods
10	10,634,397	Devices, systems, and methods for the rapid transient cooling of pulsed heat sources

April 27, 2020

Massachusetts Braces for Patent Suit Transferred from Indiana

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

New Albany, Indiana – Ultra Athlete LLC (“Ultra Athlete”) originally filed suit against Defendants, Jalmar Araujo and JB Sports, LLC d/b/a Flexibrace, in the Southern District of Indiana. Ultra Athlete claimed the Defendants willfully infringed its rights in both United States Patent Nos. 6,749,578 for “Ankle Brace With Cuff and Strap” and D550,370 for “Ankle Brace Shell”. Further, Ultra Athlete claimed Defendants violated the Lanham Act by infringing its trade dress and by acting in a manner that constituted unfair competition. Finally, Ultra Athlete claimed Defendants violated the unfair competition laws of Indiana.

After the Court dismissed the patent infringement and Lanham Act unfair competition claims, the only claims remaining in the suit were trade tress infringement and unfair competition under Indiana laws. Ultra Athlete filed the dismissed claims in the proper venue – the District of Massachusetts – and Defendants moved to transfer the remaining claims to the same venue.

Judge Richard L. Young of the Southern District of Indiana granted the Motion to Transfer the case to the District of Massachusetts stating, “[t]he court finds the convenience of the parties, the convenience of the witnesses, and the interests of justice warrant” the transfer. Judge Young further noted, “most importantly, transferring this case to Massachusetts will avoid duplicative litigation and the potential for conflicting rulings.” Overhauser Law Offices represented the prevailing Defendants in both the Motion to Dismiss and the Motion to Transfer.

April 23, 2020

Syndicate Sales Gains Home-Field Advantage in Trademark Infringement Suit

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Syndicate Sales Inc., an Indiana corporation, along with six other Defendants filed notice to remove a case initially filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles by Plaintiff, Natural Pack, Inc. (“Natural Pack”). Defendants sought to remove the case to the United States District Court for the Central District of California pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1337, and 1441 for federal question and diversity jurisdiction.

The removed case is a civil action entitled Natural Pack, Inc. v. Syndicate Sales, Inc. et al. Case No 19TSCV32476 (the “State Action”). Natural Pack filed the State Action on September 12, 2019, asserting claims for violation of Uniform Trade Secrets Act, fraud, negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract, intentional interference with prospective economic relations, negligence, violation of the Lanham Act, and California Statutory and common law infringement. Following removal to the Central District of California, the Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss under F.R.C.P. 12(b)(2) or in the alternative to Change Venue pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1401. The case was transferred to the Southern District of Indiana on January 21, 2020.

The Original Notice of Removal was filed October 15, 2019 in the Central District of California; and the case was transferred to the Southern District of Indiana on January 21, 2020 given Case No. 1:20-cv-00219-JRS-DLP and assigned to District Judge James R. Sweeney and Magistrate Judge Doris L. Pryor.

April 22, 2020

Judge relies on Indiana Verdict to Deny Oregon Judgment for Bell

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

District of Oregon – Richard Bell, a well-known copyright infringement litigant, has filed over 100 lawsuits regarding infringement of U.S. Copyright No. VA0001785115 (the “Indianapolis Photo”). However, in September 2019, a federal jury in Bell v. Carmen Commercial Real Estate Servs. found that Bell was unable to prove that he actually owned the Indianapolis Photo. Case No. 1:16-cv-01174-JRS-MPB, (S.D. Ind. Sept. 26, 2019). Being that the first element in a copyright infringement claim is to prove ownership of a valid copyright, it appeared that the jury’s decision would put an end to future litigation for Bell.

In the present case, Bell, sought a default judgment against Michael J. Davis and three other Defendants for allegedly infringing his rights in the Indianapolis Photo in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. After the Defendants failed to appear or respond to the Complaint, the Magistrate Judge issued an entry of default against all of the Defendants. Bell then filed a motion for an entry of default judgment to be entered along with an award of $150,000 in statutory damages, attorneys’ fees, costs, and injunctive relief.

April 21, 2020

Gary Indiana Venue Sued for Alleged Copyright Infringement

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Hammond, Indiana – Broadcast Music, Inc. (“BMI”), along with eleven other Plaintiffs (the “Copyright Owners”), filed suit against Backstage of Indiana, LLC d/b/a Backstage on Broadway (“Backstage”) and Marcell Jackson (“Jackson” and collectively “Defendants”) alleging copyright infringement of six different musical compositions. BMI alleges it has licensing rights to the six musical compositions at issue which are owned by the eleven Copyright Owners. Jackson is allegedly an owner of Backstage and is responsible for the operation and management of the establishment including the public performance of musical compositions. BMI and the Copyright Owners are seeking damages for six claims of willful copyright infringement after allegedly reaching out to Defendants over seventy times in an effort to educate them on the Copyright Act and license the musical compositions to Defendants.

The case was assigned to Northern District Judge Philip P. Simon and Magistrate Judge Joshua P. Kolar in the Northern District and assigned Case 2:20-cv-00010-PPS-JPK.

BMI-Complaint