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~ Trademark and Copyright Law Updates in Indiana

Indiana Intellectual Property Blog

Category Archives: Southern District of Indiana

Georgia Used Car Dealership Software Company Sued for “Repeated and Brazen Actions”

20 Tuesday Oct 2020

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

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Common Law Unfair Competition, Conversion, Federal False Advertising, Federal False Designation of Origin, Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal Unfair Competition, Indiana Crime Victim's Relief Act, Mark J. Dinsmore, Richard L. Young

The Defendant in this lawsuit, a used car dealership management software company from Georgia, is accused of “repeated and brazen actions…designed to deceive and sow confusion in the marketplace.” Among the alleged actions of Defendant are illegitimate procurement of Plaintiff’s proprietary Run Lists (i.e. “lists containing information regarding automobile auctions”), use of a “bastardized” version of Plaintiff’s logo, and falsely claiming affiliation with Plaintiff.

The Defendant is also accused of inappropriately using Plaintiff’s AUTONIQ trademark in keyword advertising. The Defendant further used the AUTONIQ trademark in a deceptive email campaign which caused Plaintiff to receive inquiries from confused consumers.

Is it just me, or does the “bastardized” logo (see Complaint paragraph 23) actually look more like a goose rather than a “lower in quality” version of the Plaintiff’s eagle?

I’ll reserve judgment until the Answer is filed, as complaints can’t be relied on for the entire story, but this paints the picture of a Defendant who is willing to flout trademark law for a perceived competitive advantage.

Stay tuned for updates.

Adesa, Inc. and Autoniq, LLC v. Laser Appraiser, LLC

Court Case Number: 1:20-cv-02433-RLY-MJD
File Date: September 21, 2020
Plaintiff: Adesa, Inc., Autoniq, LLC
Plaintiff Counsel: Louis T. Perry of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Defendant: Laser Appraiser, LLC
Cause: Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal Unfair Competition, Federal False Designation of Origin, Federal False Advertising, Common Law Unfair Competition, Indiana Crime Victim’s Relief Act, Conversion
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Richard L. Young
Referred To: Mark J. Dinsmore

Complaint:

View this document on Scribd

Dean Potter’s estate sues LG Electronics for unauthorized use of Moonwalk footage

02 Wednesday Oct 2019

Posted by Kenan Farrell in Intellectual Property, Litigation, Right of Publicity, Southern District of Indiana

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Common Law Unfair Competition, Conversion, Deception, False Association, False Endorsement, Infringement of Right of Publicity, James Patrick Hanlon, Tim A. Baker, Unjust Enrichment, Violation of Indiana Crime Victims' Act

An interesting right of publicity case involving the estate of the late extreme-sports athlete Dean Potter has been filed in the Southern District of Indiana. Mr. Potter’s estate is suing LG Electronics for unauthorized use of Mr. Potter’s likeness and appearance. In a commercial titled Listen. Think. Answer., LG uses footage from the movie Moonwalk, in which Mr. Potter traverses a highline tied to Cathedral Peak in Yosemite National Park as the full moon rises in the background, to advertise the LG OLED TV with AI.

Screen Shot 2019-10-02 at 10.11.59 AM.png

LG claims to have obtained a license to use the Moonwalk footage from Moonwalk’s director, Mikey Schaefer. However, the Complaint (below) asserts that Mr. Potter had signed a release for still photographs only, not video footage. Potter’s estate also maintains that Mr. Schaefer was not able to authorize licenses or sublicenses, meaning Schaefer could exploit the Moonwalk footage himself but not authorize third-party exploitation such as the LG commercial.

“Because Mr. Potter never consented to Mr. Schaefer’s trading in the invaluable equity of Mr. Potter’s likeness in Moonwalk, and/or his reputation as a highlining pioneer, to shill television sets, Mr. Schaefer could not license to Defendants Mr. Potter’s rights, including, inter alia, Potter’s publicity and common law trademark rights.”

This should be an interesting case to follow. Stay tuned for updates. RIP Dean Potter.

“Defendant’s advertisement of a product that enables a sedentary lifestyle, wherein material demands can be met without moving from the couch in the confines of one’s living room, is antithetical to what Mr. Potter stood for in life: an appreciation of the splendor of the outdoors and a celebration of the freedom to forge one’s own path in uncharted terrain.”

Dean Potter LLC v. LG Electronics USA, Inc.

Court Case Number: 1:19-cv-04085-JPH-TAB
File Date: Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Plaintiff: Dean Potter LLC
Plaintiff Counsel: John Tehranian, Jenny S. Kim of ONE LLP
Defendant: LG Electronics USA, Inc.
Cause: Infringement of Right of Publicity, False Association, False Endorsement, Common Law Unfair Competition, Unjust Enrichment, Conversion, Deception, Violation of Indiana Crime Victims’ Act
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: James Patrick Hanlon
Referred To: Tim A. Baker

Complaint:

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Plan B Games files Answer in Great Western Trail Litigation

01 Tuesday Oct 2019

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

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Common Law Unfair Competition, Conspiracy, False Designation of Origin, Federal Unfair Competition, Indiana Trademark Infringement, Mark J. Dinsmore, Sarah Evans Barker

Plan B Games has filed its Answer and Affirmative Defenses in the “Great Western Trail” lawsuit filed by Stronghold Games.

View this document on Scribd

The Answer is the standard cut-and-paste “Defendants lack knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations,” with just a few admissions to factual information.

The Affirmative Defenses, starting on Page 25,  challenge the Plaintiff’s rights in the GREAT WESTERN TRAIL trademark.

Stay tuned for updates.

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

Court Case Number: 1:19-cv-1492-SEB-MJD
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
Defendant Counsel: Burton S. Ehrlich of Ladas & Parry LLP, Darlene Seymour
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

 

Fan Company sues Unauthorized Online Dealer for Trademark Infringement

04 Wednesday Sep 2019

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

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Declaratory Judgment, Dilution, False Designation of Origin, Injunctive Relief, James Patrick Hanlon, Mark J. Dinsmore, Trademark Infringement, Unfair Competition, Unjust Enrichment

The Plaintiff, a fan company based in Zionsville, Indiana, sells its electric fans to consumers via its website, showrooms or through authorized dealers.

The Defendant is alleged to be offering unauthorized sales of Plaintiff’s fans at the website http://www.lightingmerchant.com. Importantly for consumers, electric fans sold by Defendant are not covered by Plaintiff’s warranty.

The Complaint (below) alleges that the Defendant purchases the products from one or more authorized dealers and then sells the products to retail customers. The identity of the authorized dealers is not revealed in the Complaint.

Fanimation, Inc. v. Decor Selections, LLC

Court Case Number: 1:19-cv-03648-JPH-MJD
File Date: Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Plaintiff: Fanimation, Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: Harold C. Moore, Michael A. Swift of Maginot, Moore & Beck, LLP
Defendant: Decor Selections, LLC d/b/a Lighting Merchant
Cause
: Declaratory Judgment, Injunctive Relief, Trademark Infringement, False Designation of Origin, Dilution, Unfair Competition, Unjust Enrichment
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: James Patrick Hanlon
Referred To: Mark J. Dinsmore

Complaint:

View this document on Scribd

Copyright Infringement Lawsuit filed over Church Hymn

03 Tuesday Sep 2019

Posted by Kenan Farrell in Artists, Copyright, Entertainment Law, Indiana, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Southern District of Indiana

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Copyright Infringement, Jon E. DeGuilio, Michael G. Gotsch

In this copyright lawsuit, the Defendant’s musical composition “Christ Be Our King” is alleged to infringe Plaintiff’s musical composition “Emmanuel.”

Take a look at the musical notation and compare the two works for yourself:

Screen Shot 2019-09-03 at 11.21.08 AM.png

The Complaint (below) details the elements of the two compositions that the Plaintiff considers “strikingly similar”:

  1. The first eight notes of “Christ Be Our Light” are precisely the same as in “Emmanuel:” the same notes, the same key, and the same time signature.
  2. “Christ Be Our Light” omitted the ninth note that was present in “Emmanuel” but ended the phrase on exactly the same tenth note from “Emmanuel.”
  3. The second phrase of notes in “Christ Be Our Light” is again almost identical to the second phrase of “Emmanuel.”
  4. The third phrase of “Christ Be Our Light” with its climbing melody is remarkably similar to the third phrase of “Emmanuel.”

What do you think? Copyright infringement?

This is an interesting case…stay tuned for updates.

Ambrosetti v. Oregon Catholic Press et al.

Court Case Number: 3:19-cv-00682-JD-MGG
File Date: Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Plaintiff: Vincent A. Ambrosetti, The King’s Minstrels Charitable Trust aka International Liturgy Publications
Plaintiff Counsel: Donald J. Schmid
Defendant: Oregon Catholic Press, Bernadette Farrell
Cause
: Copyright Infringement
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Jon E. DeGuilio
Referred To: Michael G. Gotsch, Sr.

Complaint:

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