Tag Archives: Copyright Infringement

Evansville Software Company sues Ex-Developers and their New Employer over Stolen Software Code

01 Tuesday Nov 2022

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

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The plaintiff in this lawsuit, MaddenCo, Inc., is an Evansville, Indiana-based software developer. Specifically, they develop software systems for independent tire dealers and truck stop service centers.

The defendants include two ex-employees of the plaintiff, a software development manager and software developer, who have allegedly developed infringing software code for a competing Louisiana company (also a named defendant) in violation of contractual obligations and fiduciary duties. The plaintiff’s software code has been registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.

Stay tuned for updates.

MaddenCo Inc. v. Reed et al.

Court Case Number: 3:22-cv-173
File Date: October 31, 2022
Plaintiff: MaddenCo Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: Michael T. McNally of Delk McNally LLP
Defendants: James Reed, Dru Darby, HG AutoTech LLC
Cause: Breach of Contract, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Tortious Interference, Copyright Infringement, False Advertising, False Representation, False Designation of Origin, Reverse Passing Off, Federal Unfair Competition, Common Law Unfair Competition, Declaratory Judgment
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Richard L. Young
Referred To: Matthew P. Brookman

Complaint:

AV Intern sues Kilroy’s Sports for Non-Payment of Wages, Copyright Infringement

09 Tuesday Aug 2022

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

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A popular college bar in Bloomington, Indiana is accused of non-payment of $12,000 to an intern who had been creating content for their social media accounts. The Complaint (below) details several months of promised, delayed, and ultimately unrealized paychecks.

The Complaint includes claims for declaratory judgment of copyright ownership and copyright infringement, but I assume that the intern is less interested in ownership of the bar’s social media content and more interested in getting paid for months of labor. The specific works alleged to have been infringed are not identified in the Complaint and there is no mention of registration of any works, a prerequisite for a copyright infringement claim, so the copyright claims could be vulnerable to challenge. As jurisdiction for the lawsuit is based on the copyright and declaratory judgment of copyright ownership claims, we might see an early battle over jurisdiction.

Ideally, the intern will just get paid what he is owed before lawyers for both sides get deep into researching and drafting motions. Stay tuned for updates.

Schwartz v. Kilroy’s North America, LLC et al

Case Number: 1:22-cv-01563-SEB-DML
File Date: August 5, 2022
Plaintiff: Elijah Schwartz
Plaintiff Counsel: Kimberly D. Jeselskis, B.J. Brinkerhoff, Hannah Kaufman Joseph of Jeselskis Kaufman and Joseph, LLC
Defendant: Kilroy’s North America, LLC, Kilroy’s Sports, LLC, Kilroy’s on Kirkwood, LLC
Cause: Violation of the Wage Payment Act, Breach of Contract, Promissory Estoppel, Unjust Enrichment, Fraud, Declaratory Judgment of Copyright Ownership, Copyright Infringement
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Debra McVicker Lynch

Complaint:

BMI sues Rockville Bar for Copyright Infringement

02 Tuesday Aug 2022

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

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BMI has found another target in Indiana. This time it’s the Thirty Six Saloon, a relaxed roadhouse alongside US-36 in Rockville, Indiana, home of the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival.

BMI allegedly reached out to the Defendants over thirty-five (35) times since April 2019 in an attempt to sell them the required public performance license to play music in the roadhouse. With no apparent satisfactory response, BMI now brings a lawsuit with 4 claims of copyright infringement based on the following playlist being performed at Thirty Six Saloon without a license on November 27, 2019 (the night before Thanksgiving):

Stay tuned for updates.

Broadcast Music, Inc. et al. v. Thirty-Six Saloon, LLC d/b/a Thirty Six Saloon Et al.

Case Number: 2:22-cv-00305-JRS-MJD
File Date: July 27, 2022
Plaintiff: Broadcast Music, Inc.; Cotillion Music, Inc.; Terry Stafford Music Co.; House of Cash, Inc.; Sony/ATV Songs LLC d/b/a Sony/ATV Tree Publishing; Round Hill Music LP d/b/a Round Hill Works; Tokeco Tunes; EMI Blackwood Music Inc.; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.; Lucky Thumb Music; Noah’s Little Boat Music; Sea Gayle Music LLC d/b/a New Songs of Sea Gayle; Eldorotto Music Publishing; Big Gassed Hitties; Spirit Music Group Inc. d/b/a Spirit of Nashville One
Plaintiff Counsel: April A. Wimberg of Dentons Bingham Greenebaum
Defendant: Thirty-Six Saloon, LLC d/b/a Thirty Six Saloon; Mark Vanderheyden
Cause: Copyright Infringement
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: James R. Sweeney II
Referred To: Mark J. Dinsmore

Complaint:

BMI sues Terre Haute Bar for Copyright Infringement

07 Thursday Apr 2022

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

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It has been awhile since BMI last filed an infringement lawsuit in Indiana. Their target this time around is The Verve, a music club and cocktail bar in Terre Haute, Indiana.

BMI allegedly reached out to the Defendants over sixty (60) times since March 2018 in an attempt to sell her the required public performance license. Accordingly, BMI now brings a lawsuit with 6 claims of copyright infringement based on the following playlist being performed at The Verve without a license on April 29, 2019:

These BMI lawsuits never end well for the venue, so hopefully a federal lawsuit will finally get the Defendants’ attention and an appropriate license can be purchased to resolve the conflict.

Stay tuned for updates.

Broadcast Music, Inc. et al. v. Warehouse L.L.C. d/b/a The Verve et al.

Case Number: 2:22-cv-00136-JPH-DLP
File Date: Wednesday, April 6, 2022
Plaintiff: Broadcast Music, Inc.; Peermusic III Ltd.; Universal- Songs of Polygram International, Inc.; Songs of Universal, Inc.; EMI Consortium Songs, Inc. d/b/a EMI Longitude Music; Fourteenth Hour Music Inc.; Springtime Music, Inc.; EMI Blackwood Music, Inc.; Sony/ATV Songs LLC; Fall Out Boy Inc. d/b/a Chicago X Softcore Songs
Plaintiff Counsel: April A. Wimberg of Dentons Bingham Greenebaum
Defendant: Warehouse L.L.C. d/b/a The Verve, Connie Wrin
Cause: Copyright Infringement
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: James Patrick Hanlon
Referred To: Doris L. Pryor

Complaint:

Florida Husband/Wife Marketing Team Sued in Indiana for Stealing Etsy Artwork and Selling it as their Own

05 Tuesday Apr 2022

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

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The Defendants, a Florida husband/wife marketing team, are accused of purchasing digital artwork from Plaintiff’s Etsy site and then selling it on their own website as their own work and intellectual property. The Plaintiff is an artist from Guilford, Indiana (home of the historic Guilford Covered Bridge). In addition to Plaintiff, the Defendants are alleged to have used artwork from numerous creators without authorization.

The Defendants’ own Terms of Use from their website are referenced in the Complaint (below) as evidence of their understanding (and thus willful violation) of copyright law. The Defendants are further alleged to have removed the metadata from the Plaintiff’s image files, which could support a claim of “Removal or Alteration of Copyright Management Information” although that wasn’t included in the initial Complaint. The Complaint also details unsuccessful attempted communications between Plaintiff’s counsel and the Defendants.

Damages for willful copyright infringement can be severe, up to $150,000 per infringement. If the Defendants are truly serial infringers as alleged, the Court could easily decide to grant the maximum damages award. The Defendants could also be required to pay Plaintiff’s costs and attorneys’ fees, likely a hefty amount in itself.

Stay tuned for updates.

Mapes v. Top Tier Marketers LLC d/b/a Artfily et al.

Case Number: 1:22-cv-00674-JMS-DLP
File Date: Monday, April 4, 2022
Plaintiff: Tara Mapes
Plaintiff Counsel: Michelle L. Casper, Rachael L. Rodman of Ulmer & Berne LLP
Defendant: Top Tier Marketers LLC d/b/a Artfily, Meagan Broadwater, Dean Broadwater
Cause: Copyright Infringement
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Jane Magnus-Stinson
Referred To: Doris L. Pryor

Complaint: