Category Archives: Copyright

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

Mid-April Indiana Intellectual Property Litigation Update

15 Thursday Apr 2021

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

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Just a few updates of note since mid-March in Indiana trademark and copyright lawsuits. Next month should see more filings in the current lawsuits as defendants start to make appearances.

Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. v. Sullivan (SD, 1/18/2021) – The parties have settled and a Consent Judgment was entered on April 7, 2021. The Defendant has agreed to stop using the Plaintiff’s trademarks, with each party to bear its own costs and attorneys’ fees.

Schnebelt v. Anglotopia, LLC (ND, filed 1/18/2021) – No update since the Notice on Settlement on March 10, 2021.

Noble Romans, Inc. v. Gateway Triangle Corp. et al. (SD, filed 2/5/2021) – The Plaintiff filed an Amended Complaint on April 2, 2021.

The Amended Complaint has dropped the claims of Conversion and Theft, retaining just the claims of Breach of Franchise Agreement and Trademark Infringement. As a result, the Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss filed on March 8 was denied without prejudice as moot.

Heartland Consumer Products LLC v. Speedway, LLC (SD, filed 2/5/2021) – No update yet.

Indianapolis Bouldering, LLC v. BP Holdings Co. LLC et al. (SD, filed 2/11/2021) – No update yet.

Watch Communications v. Jarman et al. (SD, filed 3/8/2021) – The Defendants’ counsel filed an appearance on April 6, 2021 and filed a 14-day Notice of Initial Extension of Time. As such, the new response deadline is April 21, 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) – No update yet.

Vroom, Inc. v. Midwest Motors LLC et al. (SD, filed 3/24/2021) – No update yet.

Delta Faucet Company v. Iakovlev et al. (SD, filed 3/25/2021) – On March 30, 2021, Delta Faucet Company filed an Amended Complaint.

ABI Attachments, Inc. v. Kiser Arena Specialists, Inc. et al. (SD, filed 4/12/2021) – No update yet.

Mid-March Indiana Intellectual Property Litigation Update

15 Monday Mar 2021

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

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Another month come and gone with just a few developments in Indiana copyright and trademark lawsuits. Some interesting cases were filed this month that should have an update next month.

Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. v. Sullivan (SD, 1/18/2021) – On 3/10/21, the Defendant was granted another extension to file their Answer until 3/24/2021.

Schnebelt v. Anglotopia, LLC (ND, filed 1/18/2021) – On 3/10/21, the Plaintiff filed a Notice of Settlement indicating that “The parties have reached a settlement in principle. Plaintiff will filed a notice of dismissal by May 28, 2021.” So this lawsuit is basically over, likely just pending full payment from Defendant to Plaintiff.

Noble Romans, Inc. v. Gateway Triangle Corp. et al. (SD, filed 2/5/2021) – The Defendants have filed an Answer and Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim (see below). The Answer is almost entirely just general denials but does include Counterclaims (starting at page 21) that tell some of the Defendants’ side of the story. Allegedly, Noble Roman’s was attempting to use a few minor protocol breaches to force the Defendants’ into signing a 4-year lease agreement. The Counterclaims also allege abusive litigation practices and abuse of process. The Defendants are asking for dismissal of the Complaint, damages against the Plaintiffs, and attorneys’ fees.

Defense counsel are Ronald J. Waicukauski and Carol Nemeth Joven of Price Waicukauski Joven & Catlin, LLC.

Answer:

The Motion to Dismiss addresses Noble Roman’s failure to make factual allegations of any specific wrongful conduct. If, per the Defendants’ Counterclaims, Noble Roman’s wanted a protracted legal battle, this is the first opportunity for it to spend some serious legal money defending deficiencies in the Complaint.

It should be noted that the original Noble Roman’s counsel who filed the Complaint is not among the team currently litigating the case, who it turns out might be on cleanup duty.

Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim:

Heartland Consumer Products LLC v. Speedway, LLC (SD, filed 2/5/2021) – No update yet

Indianapolis Bouldering, LLC v. BP Holdings Co. LLC et al. (SD, filed 2/11/2021) – No update yet

Watch Communications v. Jarman et al. (SD, filed 3/8/2021) – No update yet

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) – No update yet