Tag Archives: Copyright Infringement

Photography Lawsuit filed in Indiana over “Plaster falling off the ceiling”

06 Monday Nov 2023

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

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I’m amazed that I still have to say this but, businesses, stop using Google Images to find photos for your website.

Here’s another copyright lawsuit where the defendant, this time an insurance adjuster from Merrillville, Indiana, apparently used a professional photographer’s photograph in an online advertisement without permission. The photograph, descriptively titled “Plaster falling off the ceiling” (see Complaint below) was apparently used by the defendant in the background of an advertisement for insurance claims for poorly installed stucco.

I’m guessing that the defendant simply found the photograph via Google Search, perhaps with a search for the exact title, and unwittingly put the photograph in background of their advertisement. Note that the registrant of the insurance adjuster’s website was also named as a defendant. If they were also the website developer, they might have some direct responsibility for the content of the website and use of the plaintiff’s photograph.

Usually these lawsuits can be settled quickly but stay tuned to see whether the defendant can assert any creative defenses or explanations. Stay tuned for updates.

Radic v. AllCity Adjusting LLC et al

Court Case Number: 1:23-cv-00468-HAB-SLC
File Date: November 3, 2023
Plaintiff: Ivan Radic
Plaintiff Counsel: J. Campbell Miller, Evan A. Andersen of SRIPLAW, P.A.
Defendants: AllCity Adjuster LLC, Zor Development LLC
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Removal of Copyright Management Information, Addition of False Copyright Management Information
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: Holly A. Brady
Referred To: Susan L. Collins

Complaint:

Indianapolis Water Damage Restoration Company sued over Unauthorized Use of Photograph on Christmas Safety Blog Post

13 Thursday Jul 2023

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

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Restoration 1, an Indianapolis-based water damage restoration service, has been sued for unauthorized use of a photograph on their website. The Plaintiff is a professional photographer from New Jersey who, per the Complaint (below), first sought to negotiate a reasonable license before bringing this lawsuit with a single claim of copyright infringement.

The photograph of blurry Christmas lights was allegedly used by the Defendant as the header in a blog post titled “A Safety Guide to Outdoor Christmas Lights.” This lawsuit should be a reminder to other companies that no matter how benevolent your intended use might be, don’t ever use images you pull directly from Google Images or you could get sued. A second lesson, probably soon to be learned by this Defendant, is that the “reasonable license” fee can increase significantly after a lawsuit is filed.

Stay tuned for updates.

Sadowski v. Restoration 1 by J&D, LLC

Court Case Number: 1:23-cv-01224-JRS-MKK
File Date: July 12, 2023
Plaintiff: Christopher Sadowski
Plaintiff Counsel: Michael A. Swift of Maginot, Moore & Beck LLP
Defendant: Restoration 1 by J&D, LLC d/b/a Restoration 1 of Greater Indianapolis
Cause: Copyright Infringement
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: James R. Sweeney II
Referred To: M. Kendra Klump

Complaint:

Andretti Global sued in Indiana Federal Court by Design-Builder of New Fishers Headquarters

20 Tuesday Jun 2023

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

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This lawsuit involves the design and construction of a new headquarters for Andretti Global in Fishers, Indiana. The Plaintiff is a construction company that had been contracted to design and build the new facility. The Complaint (below) details how the business relationship went downhill pretty much from the onset, starting with late payments. The contract was terminated for cause in April 7, 2023. The Plaintiff disputes the stated grounds for termination. Construction on the facility has now been halted, presumably pending the outcome of this litigation or the related mediation.

The lawsuit includes a claim for copyright infringement due to the Defendants’ alleged post-termination use of the Plaintiff’s architectural designs. However, the Complaint does not state whether the architectural designs are registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, which is mandatory for a federal copyright lawsuit, so the copyright claim may be subject to a 12(b) motion.

The Complaint quotes one of the Defendants’ representatives as saying “If you want to go to war with a bunch of international billionaires, we’ll bury you.” The Plaintiff apparently has not been deterred by the threat of “war,” filing this lawsuit to insist that the “international billionaires” pay up the ~$1 million allegedly owed at the time of termination.

The lawsuit was originally filed in Hamilton County Court on May 24, 2023 and removed to the Southern District of Indiana on June 19, 2023. Stay tuned for updates.

DCG Indiana, Inc. v. Cardinal XLIII, LLC et al.

Court Case Number: 1:23-cv-01058-MPB-KMB
File Date: June 19, 2023
Plaintiff: DGC Indiana, Inc. d/b/a Dillon Construction Group a/k/a/ Dillon Construction a/k/a DCG Construction
Plaintiff Counsel: J. Michael Cavosie, J. Greg Easter, Elizabeth S. Schmitt, Katelyn Klingler of EASTER & CAVOSIE
Defendant: Cardinal XLIII, LLC, Motorsport Real Estate Ventures, LLC d/b/a Andretti Motorsports; Studio M Architecture and Planning, LLC, Gradex, Inc., Glenmark Construction Company, Inc.
Cause: Breach of Contract, Fraudulent Transfer, Copyright Infringement, Lien Foreclosure
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Matthew P. Brookman
Referred To: Kellie M. Barr

Complaint:

Second Defendant in Gestalt Therapy Lawsuit Transfers Venue to Indiana

14 Wednesday Jun 2023

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

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This lawsuit was transferred in from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on motion from an individual defendant. It is related to Gestalt Therapy manuscript lawsuit transferred in earlier this year.

The Center for Gestalt Development, Inc. v. Robine et al

Court Case Number:  1:23-cv-01027-JMS-MKK
File Date: June 13, 2023
Plaintiff: The Center for Gestalt Development, Inc.
Defendant: Charles Bowman, Jean-Marie Robine, Institut Francais de Gestalt-Therapie
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Jane Magnus-Stinson
Referred To: M.Kendra Klump

Burlington Pizza Shop sued over Piracy of UFC Fight

25 Thursday May 2023

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

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A Burlington, Indiana pizza shop has been sued in the Northern District of Indiana over the alleged piracy of a UFC fight. The defendants are alleged to have aired a Conor McGregor UFC fight in their pizza shop in January 2020 without the proper license. The Complaint (below) details a common scheme by which commercial locations purchase a cheaper individual license not intended for public commercial use rather than the more expensive commercial license. However, if the defendants had any type of license for the McGregor fight, I would also expect the Complaint to include some “breach of contract” claims, which it is lacking.

The Complaint does not mention when the plaintiff became aware of the alleged infringement, which is important because there is a 3-year statute of limitations for copyright infringement. The alleged infringement occurred over 3 years ago, but it’s not apparent when the plaintiff discovered the infringement. The statute of limitations for Satellite and Cable Piracy is even shorter, just 2 years in Indiana. If the Burlington restaurant doesn’t know already (via a “cease and desist” letter or subsequent communications), I’d expect the “discovery of infringement” date to be one of the first inquiries by the defendants should the lawsuit proceed to the discovery phase.

The trend for these types of cases is to see no defense thus leading to an eventual default judgment amount far greater than the cost of any UFC fight commercial license. Restaurants have no incentive to drag out the proceedings, unless they actually did not show the fight in question.

Stay tuned to this blog to find out if the Burlington pizza shop decides to put up a legal defense.

Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. v. LNH, LLC d/b/a Burlington Pizza/The Barn

Court Case Number: 2:23-cv-00177
File Date: May 24, 2023
Plaintiff: Joe Hand Promotions, Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: Ryan R. Janis, Esq. of Jekielek & Janis
Defendant: LNH, LLC d/b/a Burlington Pizza/The Barn, Neal D. Harmon, Loriann Harmon
Cause: Satellite and Cable Piracy, Copyright Infringement
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge:
Referred To:

Complaint: