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Indiana Intellectual Property Blog

~ Trademark and Copyright Law Updates in Indiana

Indiana Intellectual Property Blog

Tag Archives: Contributory Trademark Infringement

USA Football sues USA Flag for Trademark Infringement

16 Thursday Feb 2023

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

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Tags

Common Law Trademark Infringement, Common Law Unfair Competition, Contributory Trademark Infringement, Conversion, Deception, False Designation of Origin, Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal Unfair Competition, Kellie M. Barr, Tanya Walton Pratt, Unjust Enrichment, Vicarious Trademark Infringement

USA Football organizes football training events for players, coaches, and officials. USA Football was endowed by the National Football League and the National Football League Players Association in 2002.

USA Football has filed a lawsuit in Indiana attempting to prevent the use of the mark USA FLAG in connection with flag football tournaments and leagues. The parties to the lawsuit have a lengthy history, with Defendant Burnett first approaching USA Football in 2017 about a potential collaboration. Over the following years, the relationship involved both a Consulting Agreement and an Event Collaboration Agreement between the parties. However, per the Complaint (below), USA Football always maintained that the USA FLAG mark could not be used, previously opposing a USA FLAG trademark application.

Unable to successfully persuade/convince USA Flag to stop using an allegedly confusingly similar trademark, USA Football now seeks court intervention, including requests for injunctive relief and attorneys’ fees. As USA Flag seems dug into its position, this lawsuit could get interesting. USA Flag previously chose not to defend in the trademark opposition proceeding, resulting in a notice of default. Surely USA Flag won’t attempt that same strategy in federal court. Stay tuned for updates.

USA Football, Inc. v. Flag Football World Championship Tour, LLC et al.

Court Case Number: 1:23-cv-00274-TWP-KMB
File Date: February 13, 2023
Plaintiff: USA Football, Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: Amie N. Peele of Peele Law Group, PC; Louis T. Perry of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Defendants: Flag Football World Championship Tour, LLC, USA Flag, LLC, Travis Burnett
Cause: Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal Unfair Competition, False Designation of Origin, Common Law Unfair Competition, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Contributory Trademark Infringement, Vicarious Trademark Infringement, Unjust Enrichment, Conversion, Deception, Indiana Crime Victim’s Relief Act
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Tanya Walton Pratt
Referred To: Kellie M. Barr

Complaint:

View this document on Scribd

BioSweep vs. BioClean…are you confused?

01 Tuesday May 2018

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

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Breach of Franchise Agreement, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Conspiracy, Contributory Trademark Infringement, Debra McVicker Lynch, Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal Unfair Competition, State Unfair Competition, William T. Lawrence

The Defendants in this lawsuit are accused of violating the non-compete provisions of a terminated Franchise Agreement, as well as operating the competing business with a confusingly similar trademark, BioClean vs. the Plaintiff’s registered BioSweep trademark.

The Defendants allegedly also still claim to use Plaintiff’s “BioSweep System” equipment on their website, creating a false impression of a relationship with Plaintiff, and reference their competing company as “BioSweep of the Gulf Coast” in at least one instance.

Stay tuned for updates.

Phocatox Technologies, LLC v. Wiersig et al.

Court Case Number: 1:18-cv-01298-WTL-DML
File Date: Friday, April 27, 2018
Plaintiff: Phocatox Technologies, LLC
Plaintiff Counsel: Bryan S. Redding, Britton A. Jared of Redding Law, LLC
Defendants: Jerry D. Wiersig, Todd M. Hoffman, BioClean Remediation, LLC (AL), and BioClean Remediation, LLC (OK)
Cause: Federal Trademark Infringement, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Contributory Trademark Infringement, Breach of Franchise Agreement, Conspiracy, Federal Unfair Competition, State Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: William T. Lawrence
Referred To: Debra McVicker Lynch

Complaint:

View this document on Scribd

Fishers sign company sues competitor for cybersquatting

13 Wednesday Jul 2016

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

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Common Law Trademark Infringement, Common Law Unfair Competition, Contributory Trademark Infringement, Conversion, Cybersquatting, Deception, False Designation of Origin, Federal Trademark Dilution, Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal Unfair Competition, Indiana Crime Victim's Relief Act, Jane Magnus-Stinson, Matthew P. Brookman, Violation of the CyberPiracy Prevention Act

Plaintiff, based in Fishers, Indiana, is in the business of graphic design, sign manufacturing, metal fabrication, and creating promotional material and apparel.

Plaintiff’s website is located at www.eye4group.com.

Defendant is in the business of sign making and associated tools and products and is a direct competitor of Plaintiff in the Indianapolis area.

Defendant allegedly registered the domain “www.eyefourgroup.com” on October 1, 2015 and directed all traffic to its own website. That’s a no-no.

The domain is currently not active.

Screen Shot 2016-07-13 at 4.55.16 PM

Eye 4 Group, LLC v. Indianapolis Sign Works Inc. et al.

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-01864-JMS-MPB
File Date: Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Plaintiff: 
Eye 4 Group, LLC
Plaintiff Counsel:
 Jennifer L. Mozwecz of SRM Law, Joe Duepner of Duepler Law, LLC
Defendant: Indianapolis Sign Works Inc., Andrew Chapman
Cause: Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal Unfair Competition, False Designation of Origin, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Common Law Unfair Competition, Federal Trademark Dilution, Contributory Trademark Infringement, Deception, Conversion, Indiana Crime Victim’s Relief Act, Cybersquatting, Violation of the CyberPiracy Prevention Act
Court:
 Southern District of Indiana
Judge: 
Jane Magnus-Stinson
Referred To: Matthew P. Brookman

Complaint:

View this document on Scribd

Coop v. Co-op phonetic similarity fuels trademark dispute

02 Monday May 2016

Posted by Kenan Farrell in Intellectual Property

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Tags

Common Law Unfair Competition, Contributory Trademark Infringement, Conversion, Deception, False Designation of Origin, Federal Trademark Infringement, Indiana Crime Victim's Relief Act, Litigation Update, Matthew P. Brookman, Sarah Evans Barker, Unfair Competition

Plaintiff is a farmer owned cooperative which operates an oil exploration, production, refining, and marketing company. They have used their registered CO-OP trademark since at least 1991.

Defendant is a fuel company called Coop (pronounced Co-op) Fuels. They were first contacted by Plaintiff two weeks ago regarding their confusingly similar trademark and, apparently, did not act quickly enough to change their name.

Screen Shot 2016-05-02 at 12.38.25 PMNote the Defendant’s website is currently down and its Facebook page has announced “big changes coming,” so perhaps a name change is already underway. Stay tuned for updates.

Screen Shot 2016-05-02 at 12.34.44 PM

Countrymark Refining and Logistics, LLC v. Coop Fuels, Inc.

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-00972-SEB-MPB
File Date: Friday, April 29, 2016
Plaintiff: Countrymark Refining and Logistics, LLC
Plaintiff Counsel: David K. Herzog, Amie Peele Carter, Louis T. Perry of Faegre Baker Daniels LLP
Defendant: Coop Fuels, Inc.
Cause: Federal Trademark Infringement, False Designation of Origin, Unfair Competition, Contributory Trademark Infringement, Common Law Unfair Competition, Deception, Conversion, Indiana Crime Victim’s Relief Act
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Matthew P. Brookman

Complaint:

View this document on Scribd

Jasper-based Kimball International files lawsuit to enforce KIMBALL trademark

27 Wednesday Apr 2016

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

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Tags

Common Law Unfair Competition, Contributory Trademark Infringement, Conversion, Deception, False Designation of Origin, Federal Trademark Infringement, Indiana Crime Victim's Relief Act, Litigation Update, Michael P. Brookman, Richard L. Young

Plaintiff, Kimball International, Inc., has been selling furniture under the KIMBALL trademark since 1970. Plaintiff owns several trademark registrations, including the following:

Screen Shot 2016-04-27 at 8.50.57 AM

According to the Complaint (below), it was recently brought to Plaintiff’s attention that Defendant, a California-based furniture importer and distributor, had also begun selling “KIMBALL” furniture through its own website and retail partners.

Screen Shot 2016-04-27 at 8.42.40 AM

A cease-and-desist letter was sent by Plaintiff on March 29, 2016, apparently to no effect. Stay tuned for updates.

KIMBALL INTERNATIONAL, INC. v. COA, INC.

Court Case Number: 3:2016-cv-00054 840
File Date: Monday, April 25, 2016
Plaintiff: Kimball International, Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: Louis T. Perry of Faegre Baker Daniels LLP
Defendant: COA, Inc. d/b/a Coaster Company of America
Cause: Federal Trademark Infringement, False Designation of Origin, Contributory Trademark Infringement, Common Law Unfair Competition, Deception, Conversion, Indiana Crime Victim’s Relief Act
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Richard L. Young
Referred To: Michael P. Brookman

Complaint:

View this document on Scribd

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