12 Tuesday May 2009
Posted in Litigation, Patent
NEW Patent Ligitation Alert:
Plaintiff: Echo Engineering & Production Supplies, Inc.
Defendant: Engineered Products & Services, Inc.
Case Number: 1:2009cv00582
Filed: May 8, 2009
Court: Indiana Southern District Court
Presiding Judge: Judge Sarah Evans Barker
Referring Judge: Magistrate Judge Debra McVicker Lynch
Nature of Suit: Intellectual Property – Patent Infringement
Jury Demanded By: Plaintiff
Stay tuned for updates.
11 Monday May 2009
Posted in Copyright, Intellectual Property
Kenneth Crews, copyright maven and founding director of the Copyright Advisory Office at Columbia University, spoke today at an event co-sponsored by the Harvard Office for Scholarly Communication, Harvard Law School Library, and the Berkman Center for Internet and Society. Professor Crews discussed the issues affecting authors and creators of copyrightable works, from books, articles, lectures and class notes, to software, databases, websites, schematics, drawings, blueprints, renderings, movies, songs, lyrics, sculpture, choreography, landscape designs, and many other products of human creativity.
To listen to a full mp3 of the discussion, visit the Berkman Center’s podcast website.
Until his appointment at Columbia in January 2009, Kenny Crews was a professor at Indiana University School of Law – Indianapolis and the IU School of Library and Information Science. His work has won wide acclaim, and he has been active in projects and initiatives on copyright law in the United States and around the world. You can read more about his work here.
11 Monday May 2009
Posted in Legislation, Tech Developments
Hey, Indiana, leave those kids alone! Senate Bill 16, signed last week by Governor Daniels, hopes to prevent young drivers from using a “telecommunications device” while operating a motor vehicle. So, kids, no more texting, talking or tweeting while behind the wheel.
SB 16 goes into effect July 1, 2009. The pertinent language (full image below):
(4) The individual may not operate a motor vehicle while using a telecommunications device until the individual becomes eighteen (18) years of age unless the telecommunications device is being used to make a 911 emergency call.
Click here for the full text of Senate Bill 16.
The bill, heavily sponsored by AAA, is based on statistics conclusively showing that teens driving and using a cell phone is dangerous. But I’ve seen plenty of statistics that say the same about adult drivers. In fact, maybe the additional comfort level that comes with years of experience could make adults more prone to losing focus on the road while texting or talking. Could this law be a precursor to some more expansive cell phone restrictions down the road?
07 Thursday May 2009
Court Case Number: 1:09-cv-00560-WTL-TAB
File Date: Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Plaintiff: Heckler & Koch, Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: Brian J. McGinnis, Darlene R. Seymour of Continental Enterprises
Defendant: Tippman Sports LLC, Tigerstripe Paintball LLC
Cause: Trademark Infringement
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Judge William T. Lawrence
Referred To: Magistrate Judge Tim A. Baker
Leave a comment with your email if you’d like a copy of the full Complaint.
06 Wednesday May 2009
Posted in Trademark
Tags
Indiana, Logos, Trademark, Trademark Infringement, University of Missouri, Warsaw, Warsaw Community Schools, WNDU
David can’t always afford to fight Goliath. Warsaw Community Schools (Warsaw, Indiana) recently received a cease and desist letter from the University of Missouri to stop using their tiger logo.
A licensing company determined that it was the same tiger logo as the University of Missouri’s and issued a cease and desist order. 
A few years ago Warsaw re-designed their tiger to modernize it but claim that they didn’t intend to copy Missouri’s. The logo can be found on Warsaw’s track, trash cans, stationary, staff uniforms, and football uniforms.
Even if the logos aren’t identical, are they confusingly similar? Any more so than the other 1,000 Tigers athletics programs out there? Apparently, Warsaw didn’t want to find out and has decided not to challenge Missouri. Instead, Warsaw will be selecting a new logo…a contest will be held among their students to determine the new logo. And perhaps a trademark attorney could run a quick clearance search.
Source: WNDU
