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
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:
Here’s a lawsuit straight out of Bayside High School. The lawsuit involves a Muncie, Indiana Fire Captain who allegedly has been providing test questions to individuals before they take their tests. The problem is these aren’t 9th grade English tests, but rather important emergency medical technician (EMT) examinations, meaning unqualified cheaters could be made responsible for saving the lives of the public. This is unfair to everyone, including the creators of the test, who have to rewrite the compromised examinations, and unqualified EMTs, who are advanced to a position where they might not be able to properly carry out their duties. It is most unfair to the endangered public, who could receive unqualified medical treatment and possibly die as a result.
The National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT), which creates the EMT examinations, is now suing the Fire Captain, along with two accomplice test memorizers, for copyright infringement, breach of contract, and trade secret claims. The two test memorizers would allegedly take the examinations, memorize the questions, and then report back to the Fire Captain, who would use that information to train fire department recruits. The test policies specifically forbid such actions.
The “years-long scheme” was reported by a whistleblower in March 2023, leading to an investigation and now this lawsuit. The whistleblower paints a portrait of more than just an overzealous instructor, claiming that the Fire Captain forced his employees to cheat on NREMT examinations “through abuse of power and harassment.”
Stay tuned for updates.
The National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians v. Dulaney et al.
Court Case Number: 1:23-cv-00840-JRS-MJD File Date: May 15, 2023 Plaintiff: The National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians Plaintiff Counsel: Kandi Kilkelly Hidde, Cameron S. Trachtman of Frost Brown Todd LLP Defendant: Troy Delaney, Jacob Sutton, Adam Burk Cause: Copyright Infringement, Breach of Contract, Violation of the Indiana Uniform Trade Secrets Act, Violation of the Defend Trade Secrets Act Court: Southern District of Indiana Judge: James R. Sweeney II Referred To: Mark J. Dinsmore
The plaintiff in this copyright lawsuit is a professional photographer from Austin, Texas. His work is focused on architectural and landscape photography.
One defendant, Lynn Boolman Auto Sales (“Boolman”), is a used car dealership in Portland, Indiana.
The other defendant, Carsforsale.com, is an online auto marketplace operating out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It seems from the Complaint (below) that both defendants made an unauthorized use of one of the plaintiff’s landscape photographs, including cropping the photograph to remove the photographer’s signature.
It is not clear whether there is any other connection between the two defendants besides both using the photograph. Jurisdiction over Carsforsale.com seems tenuous. At least from the Complaint and related Exhibit (below), I don’t see any action that Carsforsale.com took in Indiana, either if they first posted the photograph online or if Boolman posted it to their website.
In addition to the Copyright Infringement claim, the Complaint also includes a claim for Removal of Copyright Management Information, based on the cropping of the author’s signature. However, one of the more interesting and unusual aspects of the lawsuit is the plaintiff’s third claim for Addition of False Copyright Management Information, based on the car dealership overlaying its own logo and contact information onto the (cropped) plaintiff’s photograph. Presumably, the dealership will maintain that the information added to the photograph does not identify the author or copyright owner, and thus doesn’t qualify as “copyright management information” (see definition here).
The plaintiff made prior unsuccessful attempts to negotiate with the defendants in December 2021 and January 2022. Finding no satisfactory resolution, the plaintiff now seeks the intervention of the Court. Photography copyright lawsuits often settle quickly, but stay tuned for updates.
Stross v. Lynn Boolman Auto Sales Limited Liability Company et al
Court Case Number: 3:23-cv-00061-DRL-MGG File Date: January 25, 2023 Plaintiff: Alexander Bayonne Stross Plaintiff Counsel: Evan A. Andersen of SRIPLAW, P.A. Defendants: Lynn Boolman Auto Sales Limited Liability Company, Carsforsale.com, Inc. Cause: Copyright Infringement, Removal of Copyright Management Information, Addition of False Copyright Management Information Court: Northern District of Indiana Judge: Damon R. Leichty Referred To: Michael G. Gotsch, Sr.
The named defendant in this copyright lawsuit is accused of publishing previously unpublished manuscripts of Frederick Perls, a psychiatrist who developed Gestalt therapy, an influential form of psychotherapy. The plaintiff is the Center of Gestalt Development, who claim ownership of the manuscripts.
The named defendant, an Indiana resident, successfully challenged jurisdiction and venue in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, so the lawsuit was refiled against him in Indiana. There are two other French defendants and the plaintiff is seeking to consolidate the cases in Indiana.
Stay tuned for updates.
The Center for Gestalt Development, Inc. v. Bowman
Court Case Number: 1:22-cv-02185-JMS-MG File Date: November 9, 2022 Plaintiff: The Center for Gestalt Development, Inc. Plaintiff Counsel: George A. Gasper, Brian Cavanaugh of Ice Miller LLP Defendant: Charles Bowman Cause: Copyright Infringement, Contributory Copyright Infringement, Vicarious Copyright Infringement Court: Southern District of Indiana Judge: Jane Magnus-Stinson Referred To: Mario Garcia
