Category Archives: Indiana

Indiana Trademark Litigation Update – Traveler’s Joy v. Haycco

12 Sunday Dec 2010

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Traveler’s Joy Inc. v. Haycco, LLC

Straightforward trademark dispute with a hint of intentional imitation. Plaintiff has used the TRAVELER’S JOY trademark in connection with gift registry services since 2005. Defendant operates a honeymoon registry service at joyhoneymoon.com.  The Complaint doesn’t specify how long Defendant has been using the JOYHONEYMOON mark but the copyright notice on their website is 2009.

TRAVELER’S JOY v. JOY HONEYMOON…confusingly similar?

Court Case Number: 1:10-cv-01574-TWP-TAB
File Date: Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Plaintiff: Traveler’s Joy Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: Robert L. Barlow, III of Bahret & Associates
Defendant: Haycco, LLC
Cause: Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal Unfair Competition, Federal Dilution of Famous Mark
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Judge Tanya Walton Pratt
Referred To: Magistrate Judge Tim A. Baker

Purdue Chemist to receive Nobel Prize for Chemistry

10 Friday Dec 2010

Posted by in Indiana, Intellectual Property, Tech Developments

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

Ei-ichi Negishi, Distinguished Professor of Organic Chemistry at Purdue University, will be awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry today in Stockholm, Sweden.

In speaking of the award, Negishi displayed the optimism found among many chemists: “We believe as chemists that we can sort in a satisfactory way many of the problems that we face today — food issues, energy issues and global warming issues — in chemical, if I may say so, (a) predominantly organic chemical way.”

Congrats and good luck to Ei-ichi Negishi!

2009 Prize:

Source: Indy Star

Indiana Trademark Litigation Update – Connecticut Electric v. Pacific Coast Breaker et al

26 Friday Nov 2010

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Connecticut Electric, Inc. v. Pacific Coast Breaker, Inc. et al

Plaintiff owns the  ZINSCO mark, which has been in use in connection with circuit breakers since 1974. Defendant initially bought Plaintiff’s circuits breakers for resale but then allegedly began manufacturing and selling its own counterfeit circuit breakers bearing the ZINSCO mark. Plaintiff also claims trade dress in the overall look and feel of the circuit breakers.

This case has an interesting public health component. Unlike the original ZINSCO breakers, which undergo a certification process, the knock-off breakers have not been tested (and therefore are not marked with the certification mark of a national testing lab). Let’s hope not many homes have had faulty ZINSCO breakers installed.

Court Case Number: 1:10-cv-01440-LJM-TAB
File Date: Tuesday, November 09, 2010
Plaintiff: Connecticut Electric, Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: Douglas B. Bates of Stites & Harbison LLP, Vincent Allen of Carstens & Cahoon LLP
Defendant: Pacific Coast Breaker, Inc., PC Systems, Inc.
Cause: Trademark Counterfeiting, Trademark Infringement, Federal Trademark Dilution, Unfair Competition, False Designation of Origin & False Description, Trade Dress Infringement, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Common Law Unfair Competition, Forgery Under IC 35-43-5-2(b), Counterfeiting Under IC 35-43-5-2(a)
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Judge Larry J. McKinney
Referred To: Magistrate Judge Tim A. Baker

IU study: Military technology transfers have positive impact on economy

24 Wednesday Nov 2010

Posted by in Indiana, Tech Developments

≈ Leave a comment

Technology developed in military programs and transferred to private companies has a quantifiably positive impact on the economy, a new Indiana University study has confirmed.

A subset of 103 technology transfer agreements profiled in the report were directly responsible for 670 civilian jobs at private companies, universities and nonprofit organizations across the U.S. and indirectly responsible for more than 2,600 civilian jobs. According to the study, the average per-worker salary for these jobs is $79,300 per year, compared with an average U.S. compensation of $56,100.

Federal, state and local taxes generated by these agreements total $60 million. The 103 agreements generated $200 million in direct economic output, with an additional $345 million generated in related economic activity.

For more info, see TradingMarkets.com.

Obama bestows National Medal of Technology and Innovation on Indiana Chemist

22 Monday Nov 2010

Posted by in Federal Initiatives, Indiana, Intellectual Property, Tech Developments

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

In a ceremony last week in the White House East Room, President Obama bestowed the National Medal of Science on 10 researchers and awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation to three individuals and a three-person team.

The medals represent the government’s highest honor for scientists, engineers and inventors.

Obama said their achievements “stand as a testament to the ingenuity, to their zeal for discovery and to the willingness to give of themselves and to sacrifice in order to expand the reach of human understanding. All of us have benefited from their work.”

Recipients of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation are:

  • Helen M. Free, Miles Laboratories, Indiana, for contributions to diagnostic chemistry through development of dip-and-read urinalysis.
  • Harry Coover of Eastman Chemical Co., Tennessee, for inventing cyanoacrylates, also known as super glues.
  • Steven J. Sasson, Eastman Kodak Co., New York, for inventing the digital camera and revolutionizing the way images are captured, stored and shared.
  • The Intel Corp. team of Federico Faggin, Marcian E. Hoff Jr. and Stanley Mazor for inventing the first microprocessor.

For more info on these awards and the recipients of the National Science Award, see Wall Street Journal Online.