Tag Archives: Copyright Infringement

Richard Bell Sues IU, Purdue, A Place for Mom

21 Wednesday Sep 2016

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

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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!

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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

Artist sues Boat Dealer over Breach of License

12 Monday Sep 2016

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

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Pursuant to an agreement, Plaintiff created and applied artwork to a limited number of Defendant’s boats.

Defendant is alleged to have continued selling boats with substantially similar artwork outside the terms of the original license.

The Art of Design, Inc. v. Pontoon Boat, LLC et al

Court Case Number: 3:16-cv-00595-JVB-JEM
File Date: Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Plaintiff: The Art Of Design, Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: John D. LaDue, Sean J. Quinn of LaDue | Curran | Kuehn
Defendant: Pontoon Boat, LLC d/b/a Bennington and Bennington Marine, Hawkeye Boat Sales
Cause: Breach of Contract, Unjust Enrichment, Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition, Inducing Copyright Infringement, Violations of DMCA
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: Joseph S. Van Bokkelen
Referred To: John E. Martin

Complaint:

Exhibit A:

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Horror film The Lazarus Effect accused of infringing Pro Se Plaintiff’s script

13 Monday Jun 2016

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

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Defendants, creators of a horror movie titled The Lazarus Effect (starring Olivia Wilde and Mark Duplass), are accused of infringing the pro se Plaintiff’s literary work, Lazari Taxa. The Complaint doesn’t specify which copyrightable elements from Plaintiff’s manuscript were allegedly copied by the horror film.

Stay tuned for updates.

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Fillmore v. Blum et al.

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-01423-SEB-MPB
File Date: Thursday, June 9, 2016
Plaintiff: Christopher “Chris” Wayne Fillmore
Plaintiff Counsel: Pro Se
Defendant: Jason Blum d/b/a Blumhouse Productions, Jeanette Brill, Luke Dawson, Matthew Kaplan d/b/a Chapter One Films, Robyn Marshall, Jimmy Miller d/b/a Mosaic Management, Rick Osaka d/b/a Catchlight Films, Jeremy Slater, Cody Zwieg d/b/a Supergravity Pictures, Does 1-10
Cause: Copyright Infringement
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Matthew P. Brookman

Complaint:

Author dissatisfied with own cover art sues book publisher

08 Wednesday Jun 2016

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

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This dispute arises between an author and his book publisher. In addition to writing a book, the author also designed his own original artwork for the cover. After two rounds of artwork proofs, the publisher allegedly went ahead and published the book without the author’s final approval (the author had actually signed the final approval form but claims to have later redacted his approval via email…the full story is laid out in the Exhibits below).

The book publisher is alleged to have “knowingly published and printed Plaintiff’s Works even after Plaintiff made very clear to Defendant of his displeasure and dissatisfaction of the cover art for his Works as proposed by Defendant.”

In case you’re wondering, the VARA right of attribution – by which the author could prevent the use of his name in connection with a prejudicial modification of his work – doesn’t apply here due to the exception in 17 USC 106A(c)(3):

(3) The rights described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) shall not apply to any reproduction, depiction, portrayal, or other use of a work in, upon, or in any connection with any item described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of the definition of “work of visual art” in section 101

Here’s that section from 17 USC 101, my emphasis added:

(A)(i) any poster, map, globe, chart, technical drawing, diagram, model, applied art, motion picture or other audiovisual work, book, magazine, newspaper, periodical, data base, electronic information service, electronic publication, or similar publication;

(ii) any merchandising item or advertising, promotional, descriptive, covering, or packaging material or container

Stay tuned for updates.

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Murdock v. Author Solutions, LLC

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-01398-SEB-DML
File Date: Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Plaintiff: Antara Murdock
Plaintiff Counsel: Mathew K. Higbee, Esq. of Higbee & Associates
Defendant: Author Solutions, LLC
Cause: Copyright Infringement
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Debra McVicker Lynch

Complaint:

Exhibits:

Pro Se Plaintiff sues National Heritage Academies for infringement of educational program

30 Monday May 2016

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

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The Plaintiff (handling this case pro se) alleges that the Defendant has infringed the copyrighted work “TIRS” (Transitioning Into Responsible Students), an educational program she claimed to develop while working at Indianapolis Public Schools.

At a whopping 268 pages, the Complaint was too large to post (or read in its entirety). The Plaintiff had previously sued her past employer, Indianapolis Public Schools, under a similar claim, with no success.

Brooks-Ngwenya v. National Heritage Academies Inc

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-00183-PPS-SLC
File Date: Thursday, May 26, 2016
Plaintiff: Brooks-Ngwenya
Plaintiff Counsel: Pro Se
Defendant: National Heritage Academies Inc.
Cause: Copyright Infringement
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: Philip P. Simon
Referred To: Susan L. Collins

[Updated 6/8/2016 with related case]

Brooks-Ngwenya v. Bart Peterson’s The Mind Trust

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-00183-PPS-SLC
File Date: Monday, June 6, 2016
Plaintiff: Brooks-Ngwenya
Plaintiff Counsel: Pro Se
Defendant: Bart Peterson’s The Mind Trust
Cause: Copyright Infringement
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: Philip P. Simon
Referred To: Susan L. Collins

Richard Bell sues infant health organization over use of Indy skyline photo in a 2011 PowerPoint presentation

27 Friday May 2016

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

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Richard Bell’s skyline photo crusade continues, this time against an organization “committed to improving birth outcomes and health disparities that exist within communities of color throughout the United States.”

In 2011, the National Healthy Start Association held its annual Spring Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. One presentation focused specifically on Indianapolis’ efforts to enhance infant survival and family well-being. One slide of the accompanying PowerPoint included 4 photographs of Indianapolis, one of which was Mr. Bell’s skyline photo. You can view the full PowerPoint and the allegedly infringing slide here.

Five years later, Google Images apparently found the image buried within the old PowerPoint and Mr. Bell pounced.

Let this be a lesson to all PowerPoint presenters…time does not exist on the internet. Even old uses of photos from past slideshows need to be checked and cleared of potential copyright infringement. If Google can find it, so can zealous rights holders. Copyright law is strict liability (meaning your intent doesn’t matter, just whether you did it or not) and while fair use defenses might save the day here, litigation is still time-intensive and expensive.

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Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-01301-JMS-DKL
File Date: Thursday, May 26, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: National Healthy Start Association
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Jane Magnus-Stinson
Referred To: Denise K. LaRue

Complaint:

Today’s Richard Bell copyright targets…Marian University, a business brokerage, 2 real estate firms and a moving company

16 Monday May 2016

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

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Proving that he’s neither superstitious nor a resting man, Richard Bell has filed five more copyright infringement lawsuits, two on Friday the 13th and three on Saturday. No rest for the wicked…at least those wicked enough to find Mr. Bell’s Indianapolis skyline photo on Google Images and use it on their website without permission.

Today’s targets include Marian University, a business brokerage, 2 real estate firms and a moving company.

Use the “Richard Bell” tag at left to find his other litigation.

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Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-01197-SEB-MJD
File Date: Friday, May 13, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Sunbelt Business Advisors of Indiana
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Mark J. Dinsmore

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-01199-SEB-MJD
File Date: Friday, May 13, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Marian University, Inc.
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Mark J. Dinsmore

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-01207-SEB-MJD
File Date: Saturday, May 14, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Vivona & Peyton
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Mark J. Dinsmore

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-01208-TWP-MPB
File Date: Saturday, May 14, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Top Class Moving, Inc.
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Tanya Walton Pratt
Referred To: Matthew P. Brookman

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-01209-SEB-DML
File Date: Saturday, May 14, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Profusion 360
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Debra McVicker Lynch

Representative Complaint:

Richard Bell sues Forensics Expert over use of Indianapolis skyline photo

13 Friday May 2016

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

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It’s official…this being the third day in a row of him filing copyright lawsuits, we have another Richard Bell litigation spree! It had been awhile but Mr. Bell is apparently making up for lost time. Stay tuned to this blog over the next few days as we find out just how many people unwittingly used Mr. Bell’s Indianapolis skyline photographs.

In this action, Mr. Bell is suing a forensics consultant/trainer from Kansas City who used a skyline photo on his company’s website back in 2014.

Use the “Richard Bell” tag at left to find his other litigation.

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Richard N. Bell v. Maloney

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-01193-RLY-DML
File Date: Thursday, May 12, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Michael Maloney
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Richard L. Young
Referred To: Debra McVicker Lynch

Complaint:

Richard Bell sues Real Estate Company over use of Indianapolis skyline photo

12 Thursday May 2016

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

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Use the “Richard Bell” tag at left to find other similar litigation involving these Indianapolis skyline photographs.

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Richard N. Bell v. Carmen Commercial Real Estate Services

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-01174-TWP-MPB
File Date: Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Carmen Commercial Real Estate Services
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Tanya Walton Pratt
Referred To: Matthew P. Brookman

Complaint:

Richard Bell files two more lawsuits over Indianapolis skyline photos

11 Wednesday May 2016

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

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Somehow there are still people out there using Richard Bell’s Indianapolis skyline photos on their website, despite years of reporting about it here on this blog!

This time around, Mr. Bell’s photos have snared a lawyer and an IT staffing firm.

People, don’t use Richard Bell’s Indianapolis skyline photos! He WILL sue you.

Indianapolis Skyline but NOT Richard Bell's Indianapolis Skyline

Use the “Richard Bell” tag at left to view his past lawsuits.

Bell v. TeamSoft, Inc.

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-01159-SEB-DML
File Date: Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: TeamSoft, Inc.
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Debra McVicker Lynch

Bell v. Patrick

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-01160-TWP-DML
File Date: Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Michael F.S. Patrick
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Tanya Walton Pratt
Referred To: Debra McVicker Lynch

Representative Complaint: