Tag Archives: Deception

Freedom Mortgage (with Roundpoint subsidiary) sues Freedompoint for Trademark Infringement

17 Friday Feb 2023

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

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The plaintiff in this trademark lawsuit, Freedom Mortgage Corporation, has been providing mortgage banking services using its FREEDOM MORTGAGE trademark since December 1992. Freedom Mortgage also has a wholly owned subsidiary called Roundpoint which has provided mortgage banking services since January 2009.

In April 2021, the defendant, Freedompoint, LLC, began using the trademark FREEDOMPOINT in connection with mortgage banking services. The FREEDOMPOINT trademark was registered with the USPTO in August 2021 having received no “likelihood of confusion” refusal during the application process.

It seems that Freedom Mortgage disagrees with the USPTO, believing that there does exist a likelihood of confusion, considering FREEDOMPOINT to be an infringing combination of the FREEDOM MORTGAGE and ROUNDPOINT marks.

The combination argument is interesting, perhaps suggesting that consumers would incorrectly surmise that Freedom Mortgage, owner of the Roundpoint subsidiary, had simply merged the two companies. However, do consumers even know that Roundpoint is a wholly owned subsidiary of Freedom Mortgage? I reviewed both the Freedom Mortgage and Roundpoint websites and don’t see any mentions of the other company.

If consumers don’t have any reason to associate Roundpoint with Freedom Mortgage, then really there are just two applicable comparisons…Freedom Mortgage v. Freedompoint and Roundpoint vs. Freedompoint. The USPTO didn’t consider either to be confusingly similar but perhaps more “combination” evidence will be available for this lawsuit.

Stay tuned for Freedompoint’s Answer.

Freedom Mortgage Corporation v. Freedompoint, LLC

Court Case Number: 4:23-cv-00022-TWP-KMB
File Date: February 14, 2023
Plaintiff: Freedom Mortgage Corporation
Plaintiff Counsel: Louis T. Perry of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Defendant: Freedompoint, LLC
Cause: Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal Unfair Competition, False Designation of Origin, State Trademark Infringement, Common Law Unfair Competition, Cancellation of U.S. Registration, Deception, Conversion, Forgery, Counterfeiting, Theft
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Tanya Walton Pratt
Referred To: Kellie M. Barr

Complaint:

USA Football sues USA Flag for Trademark Infringement

16 Thursday Feb 2023

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

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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:

Delta Faucet Company sues Amazon Counterfeiter over Unauthorized Sales

03 Friday Feb 2023

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

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Delta Faucet Company is once again pursuing a counterfeit faucet seller from Amazon in the Southern District of Indiana. The Complaint (below) details how a company’s trademarks are impacted by unauthorized sellers and the resulting negative online marketplace reviews. As with Delta’s previously-filed lawsuits, the Complaint highlights the gray market existing within Amazon’s “Fulfillment by Amazon” services that allows for counterfeit sales, leading to invalid product warranties, disgruntled consumers, and damaged brands.

Delta’s most recent “counterfeit” lawsuit resulted in a default judgment and permanent injunction as the Defendant never appeared. The lawsuit took just a few days over one years. The injunction, probably Delta’s real goal, presumably allowed them to finally stop the unauthorized Amazon sales. However, like mosquitoes, stop one counterfeiter and another will inevitably appear. We can probably expect a similar result in this lawsuit…no appearance by the defendants, default judgment, and injunction.

Stay tuned for updates.

Delta Faucet Company v. Watkins et al.

Court Case Number: 1:23-cv-00200-JMS-MKK
File Date: February 1, 2023
Plaintiff: Delta Faucet Company
Plaintiff Counsel: Louis T. Perry of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Defendants: Ben Watkins, John Does 1-10
Cause: Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal Unfair Competition, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Common Law Unfair Competition, Indiana Crime Victim’s Relief Act, Deception
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Jane Magnus-Stinson
Referred To: M. Kendra Klump

Complaint:

IU Health sues Methodist Sports Medicine to stop use of “Methodist” name

02 Tuesday Nov 2021

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

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For nearly 100 years, Methodist Hospital of Indiana has been operated by the plaintiff Methodist Health Group and its predecessors.

In 1990, the defendant in this lawsuit, Thomas A. Brady Sports Medicine Center, P.C., began operating a sports medicine clinic on the Methodist Hospital campus called “Methodist Sports Medicine.” The clinic has now expanded to several locations around Central Indiana.

In 1997, plaintiff IU Health took over operation of Methodist Hospital and gained the exclusive right to use and sublicense the METHODIST trademark.

Jump forward to 2019 and the Defendant has apparently decided to locate a sports medicine clinic on a Franciscan Alliance health care campus, a major competitor of plaintiff IU Health.

As a result, IU Health wants the Defendant to stop using “Methodist” in their name, and the Defendant has apparently refused to comply, hence this lawsuit.

If everything is as it seems in the Complaint (below), I’d expect an eventual rebrand from the Defendant, but it’s interesting that it took a lawsuit for a rebrand to occur. A new home with a new hospital group surely calls for a brand refresh/update? Especially if you’re just a sublicensee of your original name. Either way, things are rarely exactly as a Complaint makes them seem. Stay tuned for the Defendant’s side of the story.

Indiana University Health, Inc et al. v. Thomas A. Brady Sports Medicine Center, P.C.

Case Number: 1:21-cv-02760-JMS-MJD
File Date: November 1, 2021
Plaintiff: Indiana University Health, Inc., Methodist Health Group, Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: Louis T. Perry, Elizabeth A. Charles of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Defendant: Thomas A. Brady Sports Medicine Center, P.C.
Cause: False Designation of Origin, Common Law Unfair Competition, Deception, Indiana Crime Victim’s Relief Act
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Jane Magnus-Stinson
Referred To: Mark J. Dinsmore

Complaint:

Delta Faucet Company sues Russian Counterfeiters over Unauthorized Amazon Sales

29 Monday Mar 2021

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

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Delta Faucet Company is going after Russian counterfeit faucet sellers in the Southern District of Indiana. In a lengthy and well-drafted Complaint (below), the Plaintiff details how a company’s trademarks are impacted by negative online marketplace reviews and unauthorized sellers. The lawsuit potentially exposes a gray market existing within Amazon’s “Fulfillment by Amazon” services that allows for counterfeit sales, leading to invalid product warranties, disgruntled consumers, and a damaged brand.

This lawsuit, along with Delta’s upgraded authorized seller policies (described in the Complaint), could serve as a good model for other companies dealing with online counterfeits. Although I predict the individual counterfeiters will simply disappear to continue on behind other aliases, Delta is likely more interested in getting an injunction to prevent further Amazon sales, setting precedent against counterfeiters and possibly allowing them to address the numerous unearned negative product reviews.

Stay tuned for updates.

Delta Faucet Company v. Iakovlev et al.

Court Case Number: 1:21-cv-00733-JRS-TAB
File Date: March 25, 2021
Plaintiff: Delta Faucet Company
Plaintiff Counsel: Louis T. Perry of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Defendant: Dmitrii Iakovlev, John Does 1-10
Cause: Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal Unfair Competition, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Common Law Unfair Competition, Indiana Crime Victim’s Relief Act, Deception
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: James R. Sweeney II
Referred To: Tim A. Baker

Complaint: