Category Archives: Litigation

Indiana Trademark Litigation Update – Coach, Inc. v. Diggz Clothing

22 Wednesday Dec 2010

Posted by in Indiana, Litigation, Northern District of Indiana, Trademark

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Coach, Inc. et al v. Diggz Clothing LLC et al

Coach strikes again. Coach makes handbags, wallets, etc. Defendant is accused of selling knockoffs from a retail store in Lafayette, Indiana. As always, Coach throws the kitchen sink at the Defendant.

Related case: Coach, Inc. et al v. TJ’s Handbags
Related case: Coach, Inc. et al v. Designer Fragrance & Gifts et al
Related case: Coach Inc. et al v. Tom’s Treasure Chest

Court Case Number: 4:10-cv-00100-JVB -PRC
File Date: Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Plaintiff: Coach, Inc., Coach Services, Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: Alejandro Valle of Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan LLP
Defendant: Diggz Clothing LLC, Lori Harth
Cause: Trademark Counterfeiting, Trademark Infringement, Trade Dress Infringement, False Designation of Origin and False Advertising, Trademark Dilution, Copyright Infringement, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Common Law Unfair Competition, Forgery under Ind. Code 35-43-5-2(b), Counterfeiting under Ind. Code 35-43-5-2(a)
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: Judge Joseph S. Van Bokkelen
Referred To: Magistrate Judge Paul R. Cherry

Southern District of Indiana swears in new Magistrate

18 Saturday Dec 2010

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

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The United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana announced that Mark J. Dinsmore took the oath to become a United States Magistrate Judge on December 17, 2010. Chief Judge Richard L. Young administered the oath in his courtroom in the Birch Bayh Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Indianapolis. A formal investiture ceremony will be held at a later date. The position Judge Dinsmore fills became available due to the elevation of Jane E. Magnus-Stinson to an Article III judgeship, effective June 9, 2010.

Magistrate judges preside over many pretrial proceedings in both civil and criminal cases in federal court, including intellectual property cases. A critical part of the job is conducting mediation and settlement proceedings in civil cases, helping parties settle their disputes by agreement. United States Magistrate Judges are appointed by the Judges of the U.S. District Court for a term of eight years, and are eligible for reappointment to successive terms.

Indiana Court of Appeals Rules on Jury Access to Digital Evidence

16 Thursday Dec 2010

Posted by in Indiana, Litigation

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The Indiana Court of Appeals recently overturned a jury verdict because the trial court did not provide the jury with the ability to examine digital evidence during its deliberations in Arlton v. Schraut, Cause No. 79A02-0906-CV-541. The court’s ruling is likely to be an important decision governing how digital evidence is to be made accessible to juries in the future.

Key exhibits at the trial were three CD-ROMs containing a series of digital photos, called angiograms, which showed the back of Arlton’s left eye before and after laser surgery on the retina. During testimony from various witnesses, both parties showed the jury enlarged images of the angiograms using the CD-ROM discs, a projector and a screen. But the trial court did not provide the CD-ROMs to the jury to examine during deliberations.

The Indiana Court of Appeals held that the jury should have been allowed to view the CD-ROM discs during deliberations:

“We do not presume to set forth one all-encompassing rule regarding providing the jury access to digital evidence. The solutions could be as simple as … transforming the evidence into a medium that is accessible without a computer. Or the court or parties could provide the jury with a ‘clean’ computer, i.e., one that contains no other information and which has no ability to access the Internet…. But whatever solution is agreed upon or decided upon is better than admitting digital evidence, and then giving the jurors no means of accessing it. Digital evidence should not be relegated to muteness.”

Source: ComputerUser

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

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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

Indiana Copyright Litigation Update – BMI v. Shenanigans

01 Wednesday Dec 2010

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

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Broadcast Music Inc et al v. Shenanigans Inc et al

Defendant played 10 songs in his Anderson “Couples Only” establishment, Shenanigans, without a license from BMI, one of three main performance royalty organizations (along w/ ASCAP and SESAC). BMI claims to be caused “great” and “incalculable” damage. Actually, it’s probably about $0.25/song in the jukebox, but we know what they’re saying. While BMI seems like a cranky giant, it’s actually doing this on behalf of all of the artists it represents. Otherwise, nobody collects money and artists have to bring these lawsuits themselves.

Here are the songs allegedly infringed (listen to FULL PLAYLIST):

  1. Gimme Three Steps – Lynryd Skynyrd
  2. Hard to Handle – Black Crowes
  3. Inside Out – Eve 6
  4. Old Time Rock and Roll – Bob Seger
  5. Rocky Mountain Way – Joe Walsh
  6. Simple Man – Lynyrd Skynyrd
  7. Cumbersome – Seven Mary Three
  8. I Love This Bar – Toby Keith
  9. Linus and Lucy – Vince Guaraldi
  10. Bleed it Out – Linkin Park

Leave a comment or send an email if you’d like a full copy of the Complaint.

Court Case Number: 2:10-cv-00458-TLS -APR
File Date: Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Plaintiff: Broadcast Music Inc
Songs of Universal Inc
EMI Virgin Songs Inc
Rondor Music International Inc
Less Than Zero Music
Southfield Road Music
Fake and Jaded Music
Muscle Shoals Sound Publishing Co
PeerMusic III Ltd
Barn-Storm Music Inc
Belkin Music
EMI Blackwood Music Inc
Seven Mary Three Music
Sony/ATV Songs LLC
Big Yellow Dog LLC
Tokeco Tunes
Lee Mendelson Film Productions Inc
Universal Music-Z Tunes LLC
Chesterchaz Publishing
Rob Bourdon Music
Nondisclosure Agreement Music
Big Bad Mr Hahn Music
Kenji Kobayashi Music
Plaintiff Counsel: Christopher S. Riley of Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Defendant: Shenanigans Inc, Matthew Kelly
Cause: Copyright Infringement
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: Judge Theresa L. Springmann
Referred To: Magistrate Judge Andrew P. Rodovich