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Indiana Intellectual Property Blog

~ Trademark and Copyright Law Updates in Indiana

Indiana Intellectual Property Blog

Category Archives: Copyright

Indianapolis company accused of selling counterfeit LED lighting fixtures

15 Monday Apr 2019

Posted by Kenan Farrell in Copyright, Indiana, Indianapolis, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Patent, Southern District of Indiana, Trademark

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Copyright Infringement, Counterfeiting, Doris L. Pryor, False Advertising, Federal Unfair Competition, Tanya Walton Pratt

An Indianapolis company has been accused of selling counterfeit LED lighting fixtures.

Electra Display, on Indy’s southeast side, has been sued for copyright infringement based upon the alleged copying of the plaintiff’s intellectual property, including copyrighted images from plaintiff’s sales brochures, and false advertising, based on Electra’s use of the images to deceive customers into believing that it sold plaintiff’s products, when Electra is alleged to actually sell an inferior, knock off product made by a Chinese manufacturer.

Screen Shot 2019-04-15 at 5.47.58 AM.png

The plaintiff, Massachusetts-based JLC-Tech LLC, owns several patents for its LED lighting technology, but doesn’t assert any patent infringement claims in the Complaint (below). Rather, this lawsuit simply seeks damages and injunctive relief against the use of the sales photographs and misleading advertising. 

Stay tuned for updates.

JLC-Tech LLC v. Electra Display

Court Case Number: 1:19-cv-01468-TWP-DLP
File Date: Thursday, April 11, 2019
Plaintiff: JLC-Tech LLC
Plaintiff Counsel: Darren A. Craig of Frost Brown Todd LLC
Defendant: Edge Systems Group LLC d/b/a Electra Display
Cause
: Copyright Infringement, Federal Unfair Competition, False Advertising
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Tanya Walton Pratt
Referred To: Doris L. Pryor

Complaint:

View this document on Scribd

Photos, Bongs and Blueprints dominate the March Indiana IP Docket

01 Monday Apr 2019

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

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Architectural Drawings, Counterfeiting, Photography

The Indiana intellectual property docket continues to be dominated by photography and counterfeit bong cases. In March 2019, RooR International continued their crusade against Indiana smoke and vape shops. Many of the smoke shop defendants have seen the advantage of “strength in numbers” and retained the same defense attorney to assist with a common defense.

Sadly, another 10 defendants, including Eli Lilly, the National Association of Realtors, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (!), were caught up in Richard Bell’s skyline photo litigation web. I’ll be curious to see whether these organization’s high-priced lawyers can figure out a different resolution than previous Bell defendants.

Design Basics, a regular copyright plaintiff, returns to protect a set of its architectural drawings.

Let’s all keep our fingers crossed for an interesting trademark case to be filed in April.  I’ll be the first to let you know.

Photography

  • Richard Bell  – 10
  • Oppenheimer
  • Iwasaki

Counterfeit Bongs

  • RooR International BV – 7

Architectural Drawings

  • Design Basics LLC

Screen Shot 2019-04-01 at 6.17.51 AM.png

Copyright lawsuit filed over Chicago skyscraper photograph

20 Wednesday Mar 2019

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

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Copyright Infringement, Integrity of Copyright Management Information, Photography

Here’s yet another photography copyright lawsuit, this one involving the unauthorized reproduction and public display of a photograph of skyscrapers in Chicago.

The defendant, a corporation based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, allegedly used a  registered skyscraper photograph of plaintiff, an Oregon-based photographer, on their website without authorization.

Other than the RooR counterfeit bong cases, photography cases are the only ones being filed lately. Although I don’t expect anything unusual in this case, and predict a quick settlement, I’ll continue to monitor the lawsuit to see how it might differ from the multitudinous Bell cases.

Iwasaki v. Apollo Design Technology, Inc.

Court Case Number: 1:19-cv-00094
File Date: Monday, March 18, 2019
Plaintiff: Rich Iwasaki
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard Liebowitz of Liebowitz Law Firm, PLLC
Defendant: Apollo Design Technology, Inc.
Cause
: Copyright Infringement, Integrity of Copyright Management Information
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: TBD
Referred To: TBD

Complaint:

View this document on Scribd

Supreme Court confirms that works must be registered before commencing copyright lawsuit

05 Tuesday Mar 2019

Posted by Kenan Farrell in Copyright, Intellectual Property, Legislation, Litigation, Supreme Court

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Fourth Estate, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Special Handling

Screen Shot 2019-03-05 at 8.07.53 AM.png

The much-anticipated ruling for Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, et al. has arrived. Yesterday, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered the opinion for a unanimous Supreme Court, confirming that a work must be registered prior to commencing a copyright infringement lawsuit.

Held: Registration occurs, and a copyright claimant may commence an infringement suit, when the Copyright Office registers a copyright. Upon registration of the copyright, however, a copyright owner can recover for infringement that occurred both before and after registration.

This ruling confirms the literal reading of 17 U.S.C. §411(a), which states that “no civil action for infringement of the copyright in any United States work shall be instituted until … registration of the copyright claim has been made in accordance with this title.”

Fourth Estate, a news organization, had argued that, because “registration is not a condition of copyright protection” under 17 U.S.C. §408(a), then §411(a) should not bar a copyright claimant from enforcing that protection in court once they have applied for registration.

Now it is clear that registration must be obtained before commencing a lawsuit. This means that copyright owners must be even more diligent about filing applications for their significant works. The time spent waiting on an application to register would normally remove any option of quick, decisive action by a copyright owner against an infringer.

The best option for late applicants will be the Copyright Office’s Special Handling procedure, which allows for registration in less than a week for an additional $800 Special Handling fee.

Justice Ginsburg’s opinion acknowledged the current administrative delay of the Copyright Office, acknowledging that Congress is in the best position to protect copyright claimants, either by increasing funding to the Copyright Office or revising the language of §411(a).

True, registration processing times have increased from one to two weeks in 1956 to many months today. Delays, in large part, are the result of Copyright Office staffing and budgetary shortages that Congress can alleviate, but courts cannot cure. Unfortunate as the current administrative lag may be, that factor does not allow this court to revise §411(a)’s congressionally composed text.

This blog will begin to monitor the real-world impact of this decision and report back periodically.

Counterfeit Bongs dominate the February Indiana IP Litigation Docket

01 Friday Mar 2019

Posted by Kenan Farrell in Copyright, Indiana, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Northern District of Indiana, Southern District of Indiana, Trade Dress, Trademark

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Breach of Contract, Copyright Infringement, Federal False Designation of Origin, Federal Trademark Counterfeiting, Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal Unfair Competition, Integrity of Copyright Management Information, Photography, Richard Bell, Trade Dress Infringement, Trademark Infringement, Unfair Competition

Two photography cases, including one from serial filer Richard Bell, and a breach of franchise agreement lawsuit…other than that, the February Indiana IP litigation docket was totally dominated by filings by RooR International. RooR’s defendants are Indiana smokeshops and their alleged sale of counterfeit bongs.

RooR markets itself as “the premier manufacturer of glass water pipes by emphasizing the brand’s unwavering use of quality materials and focusing on scientific principles which facilitate a superior smoking experience.”

As you can see from the screenshot below, RooR International has gone on a recent filing spree to combat the sale of counterfeit products:

Screen Shot 2019-03-01 at 9.18.39 AM.png

RooR’s defendants, small smoke and vape shops from across Indiana, are accused of Federal Trademark Counterfeiting, Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal False Designation of Origin and Federal Unfair Competition. Heavy stuff.

Sample RooR Complaint

View this document on Scribd

The other non-bong, non-Bell cases involve the breach of a franchise agreement and the unauthorized use of a photograph of a New Year’s Eve fireworks display.

Baskin-Robbins Franchising LLC, BR IP Holder LLC v. Big Scoops, Inc., David M. Glasgow Jr.

View this document on Scribd

Bachner v. USA Halloween Planet Inc.

View this document on Scribd
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