Author Archives: Kenan Farrell

Copyright lawsuit over movie script removed to Northern District of Indiana

06 Monday Nov 2017

Posted by in Copyright, Indiana, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Northern District of Indiana

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This lawsuit was removed from St. Joseph Circuit Court, Indiana, to the Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division based on copyright preemption.

The Plaintiff alleges that he sent an original script and revisions to Defendant, which they used to create and sell a motion picture.

Jones v. Brioche and Mayo, LLC

Court Case Number: 3:17-cv-00289
File Date: Friday, November 3, 2017
Plaintiff: William Jones
Plaintiff Counsel: Andrew B. Jones, Margaret Marnocha of Jones Law Office LLC
Defendant: Brioche and Mayo, LLC
Cause: Breach of Contract, Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress, Unjust Enrichment
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: TBD
Referred To: TBD

Notice of Removal:

Project management company files trademark lawsuit against potential scam artists

09 Monday Oct 2017

Posted by in Indiana, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Northern District of Indiana, Trademark

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Plaintiff operates a project management training company called “Project Management Academy.” Plaintiff has used the trademark since 2009 and owns several related federal trademark registrations.

The Defendants are accused of operating a similar company (some call it a scam) using the “Project Management Academy” or “PMA” trademarks.

Educate 360, LLC v. Patchree Patchrint et al.

Court Case Number: 4:17-cv-00078
File Date: Friday, October 6, 2017
Plaintiff: Educate 360, LLC
Plaintiff Counsel: William P. Kelley, David M. Stupich of Stuart & Branigin LLP
Defendant:  Patchree Patchrint a/k/a Patty Jones and Anthony Christopher Jones
Cause: Declaratory Relief, Trademark Infringement, False Designation of Origin, Cybersquatting, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Common Law Passing Off/Unfair Competition
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: TBD
Referred To: TBD

Complaint:

Terre Haute Endocrinology Center sues competing medical center for not having an Endocrinologist in its “Endocrinology Department”

24 Thursday Aug 2017

Posted by in Indiana, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Southern District of Indiana

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The Plaintiffs in this lawsuit are an endocrinologist and his medical center in Terre Haute, Indiana, providing endocrinology care and services.

The Defendant is a competing medical center in Terre Haute. Allegedly, the Defendant lost its last board-certified endocrinology physician in 2014 but continues to advertise that it has an “Endocrinology Department.”

Per the Complaint (below):

“due to the use of ‘endocrinology’ in its advertising and representations to the public, patients and potential patients are led to believe that there is a physician practicing at Defendant’s facility that is board-certified in the specialty of endocrinology.”

To Plaintiff, which is a competing medical center in the area that does employ a board-certified endocrinologist, this constitutes false advertising and unfair competition.

The case was originally filed in Vigo Superior Court but removed to the Southern District of Indiana.

Pittman et al. v. Union Medical Group LLC

Court Case Number:2:17-cv-00393-JMS-MPB
File Date: Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Plaintiff: Isaiah Pittman IV, MD, HPW Center For Diabetes, LLC
Plaintiff Counsel: Paul J. Jungers of Wagner, Crawford, Gambill and Jungers
Defendant: Union Medical Group LLC
Cause: False Advertising, Indiana Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Jane Magnus-Stinson
Referred To: Matthew P. Brookman

Complaint: 

Counterfeit gages result in trade dress, trademark litigation

17 Thursday Aug 2017

Posted by in Indiana, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Northern District of Indiana, Trade Dress, Trademark

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The Plaintiff, Dwyer Instruments, is a manufacturer of industrial gages and controls headquartered in Michigan City. Plaintiff has used the registered trademark MAGNEHELIC since 1949.

The Defendants, a California manufacturer and Wal-Mart.com which lists the product, are accused of selling counterfeit gages with identical trade dress tp Plaintiff’s gages and a confusingly similar trademark, MAGRFHELIC.

Dwyer Instruments Inc v. Wal-Mart.com USA, LLC et al.

Court Case Number: 3:17-cv-00636-RLM-MGG
File Date: Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Plaintiff: Dwyer Instruments, Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: Peter J. Shakula of Wood Phillips
Defendant: Wal-Mart.com USA, LLC, Tasharina Corp.
Cause: Federal Trademark Infringement, Trade Dress Infringement, Federal Unfair Competition, False Designation of Origin, False and Misleading Representations, Common Law Unfair Competition
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: Robert L. Miller, Jr.
Referred To: Michael G. Gotsch, Sr.

Complaint: 

STOP THE DROP: Cell Phone Case vs. Seat Gap Filler…are you confused?

09 Wednesday Aug 2017

Posted by in Copyright, Indiana, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Northern District of Indiana, Trademark

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This a declaratory judgment action for both non-infringement of trademark and copyright. The declaratory judgment Plaintiff is Loopy, which sells cell phone cases that include a finger grip on the back of the case.  Loopy uses the trademark STOPTHEDROP in association with its cell phone cases, which you can see have a finger loop to prevent drops.

The Defendant, Drop Stop LLC of Los Angeles, California (as seen on Shark Tank), has a U.S. trademark registration for STOP THE DROP in connection with “IC 12 – Automobile interior accessory, namely, durable and flexible wedge, which can be expanded or contracted, to fill gap between front seat and center console of an automobile preventing objects from dropping into gap.” In other words, a seat gap filler.

Drop Stop sent a trademark cease-and-desist letter demanding that Loopy stop all use of STOPTHEDROP. Instead, Loopy has filed the action in the Northern District of Indiana for a declaratory judgment of non-infringement of Drop Stop’s trademark and copyrights. Stay tuned for updates.

While researching, I spotted a few other interesting uses of STOP THE DROP in the USPTO database:

Loopy Cases LLC v. Drop Stop, LLC

Court Case Number: 2:17-cv-00331-JVB-APR
File Date: Friday, August 4, 2017
Plaintiff: Loopy Cases LLC, John Wangercyn
Plaintiff Counsel: Peter J. Shakula of Wood Phillips
Defendant: Drop Stop, LLC
Cause: Declaratory Judgement of Trademark Non-Infringement, Declaratory Judgment of Copyright Non-Infringement
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: Joseph S. Van Bokkelen
Referred To: Andrew P. Rodovich

Complaint: