Category Archives: Copyright

Cute/Horrifying Baby Teeth Photograph Leads to Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

26 Monday Jul 2021

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

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The Plaintiff in this copyright lawsuit is an infant photographer who uses photo editing software to add teeth to her infant subjects. Depending on your aesthetic tastes, the resulting photographs range somewhere between cute and horrifying.

The Defendant sells teeth whitening and oral care products and allegedly used one of the Plaintiff’s photographs in a Facebook advertisement in August 2019. The photograph was altered to whiten the teeth and remove the Plaintiff’s watermark. The advertisement (below) included a link to the Defendant’s website and a “Shop Now” button.

It’s hard to see this lawsuit going very far; it’s slightly ridiculous it had to be filed at all. This situation seems like it would be a perfect fit for a small claims copyright court. Hopefully the parties can soon find an amicable resolution, like an appropriate license fee, for the (possibly) 4one-time use of Plaintiff’s photograph. If the Defendant somehow determines it would make more sense to litigate, we might see them challenge jurisdiction in Indiana.

Stay tuned for updates.

Haehl v. Dr. Brite, LLC

Case Number: 1:21-cv-02072-JPH-MJD
File Date: Wednesday, July 21, 2021
Plaintiff: Amy Haehl
Plaintiff Counsel: Bradley M. Stohry of Reichel Stohry Dean LLP
Defendant: Dr. Brite, LLC
Cause: Direct Copyright Infringement, Vicarious Copyright Infringement, Removal or Alteration of Copyright Management Information
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: James Patrick Hanlon
Referred To: Mark J. Dinsmore

Complaint:

Mid-July 2021 Indiana Intellectual Property Litigation Update

16 Friday Jul 2021

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

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I hope everyone is having a great summer. The last month brought us a few interesting new trademark lawsuits in Indiana and four Answers in ongoing cases. The Courts seem to be fully back in action following a long pandemic lull. Without further ado, here are the mid-July 2021 Indiana Intellectual Property Litigation updates:

Noble Romans, Inc. v. Gateway Triangle Corp. et al. (SD, filed 2/5/2021) – The parties had a telephonic status conference with the Court on June 21 and both parties report discovery is largely complete. This case is set for an in-person settlement conference on Friday, August 20.

Heartland Consumer Products LLC v. Speedway, LLC (SD, filed 2/5/2021) – The lawsuit was dismissed on June 24, 2021 pursuant to a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal.

Watch Communications v. Jarman et al. (SD, filed 3/8/2021) – An Answer to the First Amended Complaint and Amended Counterclaim and Third-Party Complaint was filed on June 30, 2021, with additional details about the parties’ interactions.

La Michoacana Meat Market TM Holdings, LLC v. Lopez et al. (SD, filed 3/9/2021) – The lawsuit was dismissed on June 17, 2021 pursuant to a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal.

La Michoacana Meat Market TM Holdings, LLC v. Galan et al. (ND, filed 3/9/2021) – On July 12, 2021, the Defendants filed their Answer.

Vroom, Inc. v. Midwest Motors LLC et al. (SD, filed 3/24/2021) – The parties had a telephonic status conference with the Court on June 23, 2021. They were ordered to report on the status of settlement by July 23, 2021.

Delta Faucet Company v. Iakovlev et al. (SD, filed 3/25/2021) – No update.

ABI Attachments, Inc. v. Kiser Arena Specialists, Inc. et al. (SD, filed 4/12/2021) – An Answer was filed on June 16, 2021.

Triple LLL Truck Repair, Inc. v. Triple LLL, Inc. et al. (ND, filed 4/26/2021) – The Defendants did not respond to the Complaint by a July 7, 2021 deadline. Nothing else to report.

Energy Beverages LLC v. Full Throttle Automotive LLC (SD, filed 5/19/2021) – The Defendant has been granted an extension until July 30, 2021 to respond to the Complaint.

Monster Energy Company v. R&R Medical, LLC d/b/a Bear KompleX (ND, filed 5/26/2021) – A Rule 16 Preliminary Pretrial Conference is currently scheduled for July 29, 2021, although a consent motion to reschedule and extend deadlines was filed on July 15, 2021.

Egglife Foods, Inc. v. Crepini, LLC (ND, filed 5/28/2021) – No update yet.

Gatewood v. Webber Chappelle (ND, filed 6/4/2021) – No update yet.

Sears Authorized Hometown Stores, LLC v. Lynn Retails, Inc. et al. (SD, filed 6/4/2021) – Defense counsel (Van T. Willis) filed an Appearance on July 6, 2021 but no other updates.

Noble Roman’s, Inc. v. AMI Stores Management, Inc. et al. (SD, filed 6/6/2021) – An Answer was filed on July 9, 2021. An initial pretrial conference is set for August 3, 2021.

Valqari LLC v. Dronedek Corporation et al. (SD, filed 6/16/2021) – No update yet.

Fitzgerald et al. v. Murray et al. (SD, filed 6/18/2021) – No update yet.

Phoenix Intangibles Holding Company et al. v. Virk Brothers, LLC et al. (ND, filed 7/9/2021) – No update yet.

Poulsen Roser A/S v. Gardens Alive, Inc. et al. (SD, filed 7/14/2021) – No update yet.

June 2021 Updates

May 2021 Updates

April 2021 Updates

Author Sued for Copyright Infringement, RICO Violation over Unauthorized Tell-all Book about Deceased Metaphysician

21 Monday Jun 2021

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

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The parties to this copyright lawsuit have a long personal history.

The Plaintiff, Fitzgerald, was the executor of the estate of Frithjof Schuon (“Schuon”), a Swiss metaphysician and author, who died in Bloomington, Indiana in May 1998.

The Defendant, Murray, was a close friend of Schuon and his wife until 1992. From 1992-1995, Murray allegedly made aggressive communications, including threatening letters, to Schuon. Murray repeatedly violated a Protective Order, leading to her incarceration. Murray then filed four lawsuits against the Schuons, two of which were dismissed and two which were settled via a Settlement Agreement that included a confidentiality provision.

Photo by Michael Fitzgerald, CC BY 2.5, No changes made.

After Schuon died in 1998, his wife inherited his right of publicity and copyrights. Those rights were subsequently assigned to Plaintiff World Wisdom, Inc. (“World Wisdom”) in 2003. Mrs. Schuon’s rights under the Settlement Agreement were assigned to Fitzgerald and World Wisdom in 2021. World Wisdom also was assigned rights in Mrs. Schuon’s own right of publicity and copyrights.

In April 2018, Murray published a website that contained many criticisms of Schuon. The website allegedly infringes some of Mrs. Schuon’s copyrighted works and violates the confidentiality provision of the earlier Settlement Agreement. Further, in 2021, Murray published a book, Third Wife of the Muslim Shaykh Frithjof Schuon, that allegedly infringes numerous copyrighted works of Mrs. Schuon. Murray’s publisher, Defendant Beacon Books and Media, discontinued print publication of the book in March 2021 but electronic versions remain available. The Defendants have apparently intimidated that further print versions of the book are forthcoming.

In addition to copyright and breach of contract claims, the Complaint (below) also includes a claim for a RICO violation based on alleged racketeering activity by the Defendants.

Given the long history between the parties and the seemingly contrary position of the Defendants, the Answer should be an interesting read. Stay tuned for updates.

Fitzgerald et al. v. Murray et al.

Case Number: 1:21-cv-01822-TWP-TAB
File Date: Friday, June 18, 2021
Plaintiff: Michael Fitzgerald, World Wisdom, Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: Louis T. Perry, Jason M. Rauch, Elizabeth A. Charles of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Defendant: Maude Murray, Beacon Books and Media, LTD
Cause: Civil RICO, Copyright Infringement, Right of Publicity, Breach of Contract, Intentional Interference with Contractual Relations
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Tanya Walton Pratt
Referred To: Tim A. Baker

Complaint:

Mailbox Drone Manufacturer Invites Copyright Infringement Lawsuit by Stealing Product Photographs from Competitor

17 Thursday Jun 2021

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

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The Plaintiff in this lawsuit is an Illinois-based manufacturer of smart mailboxes and customized mail delivery drones.

Unfortunately, this copyright infringement lawsuit doesn’t involve the very interesting mailbox and drone technology but instead focuses on two photographs of Plaintiff’s product. The Defendants, a competing drone mailbox company from Indianapolis, allegedly copied the product photographs, make slight modifications to remove Plaintiff’s identifiers, and included the altered photographs in its own presentation materials, including at a major industry trade show.

Reviewing the images included in the Complaint (below), it certainly seems like these are fairly blatant, and slightly ridiculous, instances of copyright infringement. The Complaint also alleges several other claims based on the Defendants’ alleged attempts to “unfairly advance and promote the commercial identity, status and reputation of the Defendant Companies, to solicit the sale of their products and services to customers and potential customers, and to solicit investors, potential investors and partners, in competition with Plaintiff.”

I’m looking forward to the Defendants’ Answer and their possible explanation for the use of the altered photographs. Stay tuned for updates.

Valqari LLC v. Dronedek Corporation et al.

Case Number: 1:21-cv-01754-JMS-MJD
File Date: Wednesday, June 16, 2021
Plaintiff: Valqari LLC
Plaintiff Counsel: Deborah Pollack-Milgate, E. Sahara Williams of Barnes & Thornburg LLP, Louis J. Alex of Cook Alex Ltd.
Defendant: Dronedek Corporation, Dronedek LLC, Daniel O’Toole
Cause: Copyright Infringement, False Advertising, False Representations, False Designations of Origin, Reverse Passing Off, Unfair Competition, State Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Jane Magnus-Stinson
Referred To: Mark J. Dinsmore

Complaint:

Mid-June Indiana Intellectual Property Litigation Update

15 Tuesday Jun 2021

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

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It was a busy month for new filings but no big updates in previously filed cases.

Noble Romans, Inc. v. Gateway Triangle Corp. et al. (SD, filed 2/5/2021) – There has been an extension of forty-five days for the parties’ initial discovery deadlines. Nothing else to report.

Heartland Consumer Products LLC v. Speedway, LLC (SD, filed 2/5/2021) – Nothing to report.

Watch Communications v. Jarman et al. (SD, filed 3/8/2021)- A pretrial conference was held on May 17, 2021. An Amended Complaint was filed on June 4, 2021 and an Answer to Third Party Counterclaims was filed on June 9, 2021.

La Michoacana Meat Market TM Holdings, LLC v. Lopez et al. (SD, filed 3/9/2021) – No update yet.

La Michoacana Meat Market TM Holdings, LLC v. Galan et al. (ND, filed 3/9/2021) – On June 14, 2021, Attorney Kevin E. Steele filed an appearance on behalf of all defendants and requested an extension of time to file an answer.

Vroom, Inc. v. Midwest Motors LLC et al. (SD, filed 3/24/2021) – A pretrial conference was held on June 4, 2021. The Defendants failed to appear. Defendants have until June 18, 2021 to show cause why sanctions should not issue for their failure to appear.

Delta Faucet Company v. Iakovlev et al. (SD, filed 3/25/2021) – On June 2, 2021, Delta filed a motion to take discovery from Amazon.com. The motion was granted on June 4, 2021.

ABI Attachments, Inc. v. Kiser Arena Specialists, Inc. et al. (SD, filed 4/12/2021) – A pretrial conference was held on June 3, 2021. A response to the Complaint is due by June 17, 2021.

Triple LLL Truck Repair, Inc. v. Triple LLL, Inc. et al. (ND, filed 4/26/2021) – No update yet.

Energy Beverages LLC v. Full Throttle Automotive LLC (SD, filed 5/19/2021) – The Defendants have received an extension of time to answer the Complaint until July 7, 2021.

Monster Energy Company v. R&R Medical, LLC d/b/a Bear KompleX (ND, filed 5/26/2021) – No update yet.

Egglife Foods, Inc. v. Crepini, LLC (ND, filed 5/28/2021) – No update yet.

Gatewood v. Webber Chappelle (ND, filed 6/4/2021) – No update yet.

Sears Authorized Hometown Stores, LLC v. Lynn Retails, Inc. et al. (SD, filed 6/4/2021) – No update yet.

Noble Roman’s, Inc. v. AMI Stores Management, Inc. et al. (SD, filed 6/6/2021) – No update yet.

May 2021 Updates

April 2021 Updates