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Indiana Intellectual Property Blog

~ Trademark and Copyright Law Updates in Indiana

Indiana Intellectual Property Blog

Category Archives: Indianapolis

Delta Faucet Company sues Russian Counterfeiters over Unauthorized Amazon Sales

29 Monday Mar 2021

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

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Tags

Common Law Trademark Infringement, Common Law Unfair Competition, Deception, Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal Unfair Competition, Indiana Crime Victim's Relief Act, James R. Sweeney II, Tim A. Baker

Delta Faucet Company is going after Russian counterfeit faucet sellers in the Southern District of Indiana. In a lengthy and well-drafted Complaint (below), the Plaintiff details how a company’s trademarks are impacted by negative online marketplace reviews and unauthorized sellers. The lawsuit potentially exposes a gray market existing within Amazon’s “Fulfillment by Amazon” services that allows for counterfeit sales, leading to invalid product warranties, disgruntled consumers, and a damaged brand.

This lawsuit, along with Delta’s upgraded authorized seller policies (described in the Complaint), could serve as a good model for other companies dealing with online counterfeits. Although I predict the individual counterfeiters will simply disappear to continue on behind other aliases, Delta is likely more interested in getting an injunction to prevent further Amazon sales, setting precedent against counterfeiters and possibly allowing them to address the numerous unearned negative product reviews.

Stay tuned for updates.

Delta Faucet Company v. Iakovlev et al.

Court Case Number: 1:21-cv-00733-JRS-TAB
File Date: March 25, 2021
Plaintiff: Delta Faucet Company
Plaintiff Counsel: Louis T. Perry of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Defendant: Dmitrii Iakovlev, John Does 1-10
Cause: Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal Unfair Competition, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Common Law Unfair Competition, Indiana Crime Victim’s Relief Act, Deception
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: James R. Sweeney II
Referred To: Tim A. Baker

Complaint:

View this document on Scribd

Dispute over Great Western Trail publishing rights leads to trademark lawsuit

18 Thursday Apr 2019

Posted by Kenan Farrell in Branding, Business Law, Indiana, Indianapolis, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Southern District of Indiana, Trademark

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Common Law Unfair Competition, Conspiracy, False Designation of Origin, Federal Unfair Competition, Gaming, State Trademark Infringement

This is an interesting dispute involving board game publishing rights and exclusive trademark licensing.

The Complaint (below) references a contract by which the plaintiff, Stronghold Games, would exclusively publish a board game called “Great Western Trail” from August 3, 2016 to December 31, 2018. At that time, the game was owned by a German company called eggertspiele. The Complaint alleges that one of the obligations eggertspiele agreed to in the contract was it “will not during the term grant to any other person, firm or company any rights that would derogate from the grant made” in its contract with Stronghold Games.

Stronghold first released Great Western Trail in the U.S. in November 2016. It was very popular and quickly sold out. However, while seeking permission for a second print run of the game in June 2017, Stronghold learned that all assets of eggertspiele had been purchased by Plan B Games, the defendant.

Plan B Games asserted that it had no contract with Stronghold and it did not grant reprint rights to Stronghold. Subsequently, in January 2018, Plan B Games released its own version of Great Western Trail, seemingly identical but removing Stronghold’s logo from the packaging.

Screen Shot 2019-04-17 at 11.03.19 AM.png

I think this paragraph from the Complaint nicely sums up why Stronghold is unhappy with the current state of affairs: “Plan B was well aware of the pent-up demand for the Stronghold Version of this game in 2017, and the introduction of the nearly identical Plan B Version in early 2018 to satisfy the pent-up demand for the Stronghold Version improperly traded on Stronghold’s goodwill and has led to consumer confusion.”

Unfortunately, while the Complaint references the initial contract between Stronghold and eggertspiele granting publication rights, it didn’t include a copy of the contract for review. Although the contract apparently included language about minimum duration and exclusivity, it’s unclear whether the contract granted any property interest in the Great Western Trail trademark to Stronghold.

As general information, license agreements can give licensees standing to sue for infringement, provided that they grant an exclusive license and a property interest in the trademark. A trademark licensee’s proper use of a mark benefits the trademark owner, not the licensee. This allows trademark owners to rely on use by controlled licensees to prove continuing use of a trademark. Section 5 of the Lanham Act explicitly recognizes the acquisition of trademark rights by a licensor through first use of the mark by a controlled licensee.

However, in this situation, Stronghold appears to assert its own claim to property rights in the GREAT WESTERN TRAIL trademark distinct from the licensor, based on its own exclusive marketing efforts in the United States.

I look forward to reading the Answer, which hopefully will include the original contract. Stay tuned for updates.

UPDATE: This lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice on January 30, 2020.

Indie Game Studios, LLC v. Plan B Games, Inc et al.

Court Case Number: 1:19-cv-1492
File Date: Monday, April 15, 2019
Plaintiff: Indie Game Studios, LLC d/b/a Stronghold Games LLC
Plaintiff Counsel: Patrick J. Olmstead, Jr., John Bradshaw
Defendant: Plan B Games, Inc., Plan B Games Europe GMBH
Cause
: Federal Unfair Competition, False Designation of Origin, Indiana Trademark Infringement, Common Law Unfair Competition, Conspiracy
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Mark J. Dinsmore

Complaint:

View this document on Scribd

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

Free Legal Resources in Indianapolis

27 Wednesday Feb 2019

Posted by Kenan Farrell in Indianapolis, Intellectual Property, Litigation

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Due to budgetary restrictions, the Marion County Law Library in Indianapolis ceased to operate in 2010 and hasn’t reopened.

If you’d like to do some free legal research or access court forms on your own,  there are still a few options. Computers with Internet access to court forms are available at public libraries around town and at the Central Library located at 40. E. St. Clair St., phone 317-275-4100.

You can do legal research at the Ruth Lilly Law Library in I.U. Robert H. McKinney School of Law (hours and access policies).

Please note that individual courts do not have forms and their staff cannot advise you on the use of appropriate forms or assist with filling them out.

For a free legal consultation (service availability is often based on income level), you may contact the following organizations:

  • Indiana Legal Aid Society: 317-635-9539
  • Legal Services: 317-631-9410
  • Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic: 317-415-5337
  • Indianapolis Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral Service: 317-269-2222
  • Free Legal Line, every second Tuesday of the month, between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m: 317-269-2000
  • Legal Advice Hot Line, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday: 317-269-2222 ($35.00 for a 20-minute phone consultation with attorney)

Richard Bell Sues IU, Purdue, A Place for Mom

21 Wednesday Sep 2016

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

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Copyright Infringement, Debra McVicker Lynch, Denise K. LaRue, Jane Magnus-Stinson, Photography, Richard Bell, Tanya Walton Pratt, Unfair Competition

Richard Bell strikes again…and again…and again. Mr. Bell has filed eight more copyright lawsuits over his Indianapolis skyline photo. Several individuals, a senior living facility, Indiana University and Purdue University all join the illustrious list of Bell defendants.

People, stop using Mr. Bell’s photographs!

Screen Shot 2016-05-27 at 6.52.34 AM

Court Case Number: 1:2016-cv-02434-TWP-DKL
File Date:  Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Plaintiff: 
Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: 
Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Buckley
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: 
Southern District of Indiana
Judge:
Tanya Walton Pratt
Referred To: Denise K. LaRue

Court Case Number: 1:2016-cv-02436-JMS-DML
File Date: Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Plaintiff: 
Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: 
Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Tipton
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: 
Southern District of Indiana
Judge: 
Jane Magnus-Stinson
Referred To: Debra McVicker Lynch

Court Case Number: 1:2016-cv-02451-SEB-DML
File Date: Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Plaintiff: 
Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: 
Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: A Place for Mom, Inc.
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: 
Southern District of Indiana
Judge:
Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Debra McVicker Lynch

Court Case Number: 1:2016-cv-02463-TWP-DML
File Date: Thursday, September 15, 2016
Plaintiff: 
Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: 
Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Indiana University
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: 
Southern District of Indiana
Judge: 
Tanya Walton Pratt
Referred To: Debra McVicker Lynch

Court Case Number: 1:2016-cv-02482-SEB-DKL
File Date: Friday, September 16, 2016
Plaintiff: 
Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: 
Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: East Coast Health Insurance, Inc.
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: 
Southern District of Indiana
Judge: 
Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Denise K. LaRue

Court Case Number: 1:2016-cv-02488-RLY-DML
File Date: Friday, September 16, 2016
Plaintiff: 
Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: 
Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Purdue University
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: 
Southern District of Indiana
Judge:
Richard L. Young
Referred To: Debra McVicker Lynch

Court Case Number: 1:206-cv-02491
File Date: Sunday, September 18, 2016
Plaintiff: 
Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: 
Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Powell et al
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: 
Southern District of Indiana
Judge:
Tanya Walton Pratt
Referred To: Debra McVicker Lynch

Court Case Number: 1:2016-cv-2501
File Date: Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Plaintiff: 
Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: 
Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Hornberger Imports, Inc.
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: 
Southern District of Indiana
Judge:
Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Debra McVicker Lynch

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