Tag Archives: Deception

Fishers sign company sues competitor for cybersquatting

13 Wednesday Jul 2016

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Plaintiff, based in Fishers, Indiana, is in the business of graphic design, sign manufacturing, metal fabrication, and creating promotional material and apparel.

Plaintiff’s website is located at www.eye4group.com.

Defendant is in the business of sign making and associated tools and products and is a direct competitor of Plaintiff in the Indianapolis area.

Defendant allegedly registered the domain “www.eyefourgroup.com” on October 1, 2015 and directed all traffic to its own website. That’s a no-no.

The domain is currently not active.

Screen Shot 2016-07-13 at 4.55.16 PM

Eye 4 Group, LLC v. Indianapolis Sign Works Inc. et al.

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-01864-JMS-MPB
File Date: Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Plaintiff: Eye 4 Group, LLC
Plaintiff Counsel: Jennifer L. Mozwecz of SRM Law, Joe Duepner of Duepler Law, LLC
Defendant: Indianapolis Sign Works Inc., Andrew Chapman
Cause: Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal Unfair Competition, False Designation of Origin, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Common Law Unfair Competition, Federal Trademark Dilution, Contributory Trademark Infringement, Deception, Conversion, Indiana Crime Victim’s Relief Act, Cybersquatting, Violation of the CyberPiracy Prevention Act
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Jane Magnus-Stinson
Referred To: Matthew P. Brookman

Complaint:

Coop v. Co-op phonetic similarity fuels trademark dispute

02 Monday May 2016

Posted by in Intellectual Property

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

Plaintiff is a farmer owned cooperative which operates an oil exploration, production, refining, and marketing company. They have used their registered CO-OP trademark since at least 1991.

Defendant is a fuel company called Coop (pronounced Co-op) Fuels. They were first contacted by Plaintiff two weeks ago regarding their confusingly similar trademark and, apparently, did not act quickly enough to change their name.

Screen Shot 2016-05-02 at 12.38.25 PMNote the Defendant’s website is currently down and its Facebook page has announced “big changes coming,” so perhaps a name change is already underway. Stay tuned for updates.

Screen Shot 2016-05-02 at 12.34.44 PM

Countrymark Refining and Logistics, LLC v. Coop Fuels, Inc.

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-00972-SEB-MPB
File Date: Friday, April 29, 2016
Plaintiff: Countrymark Refining and Logistics, LLC
Plaintiff Counsel: David K. Herzog, Amie Peele Carter, Louis T. Perry of Faegre Baker Daniels LLP
Defendant: Coop Fuels, Inc.
Cause: Federal Trademark Infringement, False Designation of Origin, Unfair Competition, Contributory Trademark Infringement, Common Law Unfair Competition, Deception, Conversion, Indiana Crime Victim’s Relief Act
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Matthew P. Brookman

Complaint:

Jasper-based Kimball International files lawsuit to enforce KIMBALL trademark

27 Wednesday Apr 2016

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

Plaintiff, Kimball International, Inc., has been selling furniture under the KIMBALL trademark since 1970. Plaintiff owns several trademark registrations, including the following:

Screen Shot 2016-04-27 at 8.50.57 AM

According to the Complaint (below), it was recently brought to Plaintiff’s attention that Defendant, a California-based furniture importer and distributor, had also begun selling “KIMBALL” furniture through its own website and retail partners.

Screen Shot 2016-04-27 at 8.42.40 AM

A cease-and-desist letter was sent by Plaintiff on March 29, 2016, apparently to no effect. Stay tuned for updates.

KIMBALL INTERNATIONAL, INC. v. COA, INC.

Court Case Number: 3:2016-cv-00054 840
File Date: Monday, April 25, 2016
Plaintiff: Kimball International, Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: Louis T. Perry of Faegre Baker Daniels LLP
Defendant: COA, Inc. d/b/a Coaster Company of America
Cause: Federal Trademark Infringement, False Designation of Origin, Contributory Trademark Infringement, Common Law Unfair Competition, Deception, Conversion, Indiana Crime Victim’s Relief Act
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Richard L. Young
Referred To: Michael P. Brookman

Complaint:

Indiana Trademark Litigation Update – Darryl D. Agler v. Westheimer Corporation

28 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by in Intellectual Property

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Alleged Infringing Product - Exhibit F to Complaint

Alleged Infringing Product – Exhibit F to Complaint

Plaintiff is a custom guitar-maker from Fort Wayne, Indiana. He has sold his high-quality guitars under the registered STRATOTONE trademark since 2007.

Plaintiff’s high-end guitars are “painstakingly hand-crafted from the wood of a customer’s choosing and features vintage hardware and pick-ups.” They generally retail for above $1,250. Defendant has allegedly flooded the market with lower quality, cheaper (between $200-400) guitars that bear the STRATOTONE Mark. Plaintiff discovered the infringing products at a NAMM show in 2010, where he confronted Defendant’s personnel.

Defendant, based in Illinois, attempted to file its own trademark application for STRATOTONE in December 2012 but was rejected based on Plaintiff’s registration. In response, Defendant has attempted to cancel Plaintiff’s registration and Plaintiff has brought this lawsuit.

Darryl D. Agler v. Westheimer Corporation

Court Case Number: 1:14-cv-00099
File Date: Thursday, March 27, 2014
Plaintiff: Darryl D. Agler
Plaintiff Counsel: Louis T. Perry, Amie P. Carter of Faegre Baker Daniels LLP
Defendant: Westheimer Corporation
Cause: Federal Unfair Competition, False Designation of Origin, Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal Trademark Counterfeiting, Common Law Unfair Competition, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Unjust Enrichment, Conversion, Deception, Indiana Crime Victim’s Relief Act
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: Jon E. DeGuilio
Referred To: Roger B. Cosbey

Indiana Trademark Litigation Update – James Dean v. Twitter

10 Monday Feb 2014

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Screen Shot 2014-02-10 at 4.21.44 PMHere’s a potential Giant of a lawsuit.

Plaintiff, James Dean Inc., wants the @JamesDean Twitter handle. Somebody else has been using the Twitter handle since 2009 as a fan account for the Fairmount, Indiana-raised rebel movie icon. The @JamesDean account has more than 8,200 followers and has sent over 2,200 tweets. CMG Worldwide, the exclusive licensee of James Dean’s name and likeness, unable to convince Twitter to hand over the account, are now suing Twitter directly in federal court to force compliance. Twitter looks set to put up a full defense rather than subject themselves to an onslaught of username complaints.

Stay tuned for what will likely become a precedent-setting case for dead celebrity Twitter handles.

Court Case Number: 1:14-cv-00183-WTL-DML
File Date: Friday, February 07, 2014
Plaintiff: James Dean, Inc., John Doe, One, John Doe, Two, John Doe, Three, John Doe, Four
Plaintiff Counsel: Theodore J. Minch of Sovich Minch, LLP
Defendant: Twitter, Inc.
Cause: Trademark Infringement, False Endorsement, Indiana State Statutory Right of Publicity, Common Law Right of Publicity, Common Law Unfair Competition, Unjust Enrichment, Conversion, Deception, Indiana Crime Victims’ Act
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Judge William T. Lawrence
Referred To: Magistrate Judge Debra McVicker Lynch

Indiana Trademark Litigation Update – Swag Merchandising v. T.V. Store Online

03 Monday Feb 2014

Posted by in Intellectual Property

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Plaintiff alleges that Defendant is manufacturing and selling unauthorized “Energy Dome Hats,” the headwear popularized by American New Wave band DEVO.

Plaintiff claims to be the exclusive licensing agent of DEVO’s intellectual property rights. The Complaint references a pair of federal trademark registrations for DEVO in connection with “entertainment services” and “sound and visual recordings.” The ultimate question for this case however, which is less clear in the Complaint, is whether DEVO owns the rights to manufacture and sell Energy Dome Hats, which are “red in color, circular, and including four tiers of the circular design, with each tier becoming larger in circumference from the top of the hat to the bottom of the hat.”

Swag Merchandising Inc. et al v. T.V. Store Online et al

Court Case Number: 1:14-cv-00127-TWP-DKL
File Date: Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Plaintiff: Swag Merchandising Inc., Devo Inc. Corporation California
Plaintiff Counsel: Theodore J. Minch of Sovich Minch LLP
Defendant: T.V. Store Online, Fred Hajjar
Cause: Violation of 1125(a), Trademark Infringement, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Counterfeiting, Dilution, Common Law Unfair Competition, Statutory Right of Publicity, California Right of Publicity Infringement, Common Law Right of Publicity, Deception, Indiana Crime Victims’ Act
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Judge Tanya Walton Pratt
Referred To: Magistrate Judge Denise K. LaRue

State Court Complaint:

Notice of Removal:

Indiana Trademark Litigation Update – Leon Isaac Kennedy v. GoDaddy

30 Thursday May 2013

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

Plaintiff is an actor, producer, and writer, best known for his performance as “Too Sweet” in 1979’s Penitentiary and its sequels. He is also a partner of a food company with Smokey Robinson, Smokey Robinson Foods.This lawsuit involves Plaintiff’s attempt to get the domain name leonisaackennedy.com from an alleged cybersquatter, via the registrar GoDaddy.

Leon Isaac Kennedy v. GoDaddy Inc. et al

Court Case Number: 1:13-cv-00876-RLY-DML
File Date: Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Plaintiff: Leon Isaac Kennedy
Plaintiff Counsel: Theodore J. Minch of Sovich Minch LLP
Defendant: GoDaddy Inc., Spirit Media, Arthur Phoenix, John Doe
Cause: Violation of 1125(a), Violation of 1125(d), Unfair Competition, Violation of Indiana Right of Publicity, Conversion, Deception, Indiana Crime Victims’ Act
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Judge Richard L. Young
Referred To: Magistrate Judge Debra McVicker Lynch

Complaint (originally filed in Hamilton Superior Court):

Notice of Removal: 

Indiana Right of Publicity Litigation Update – The Estate of Bette Davis v. Erickson Beamon

17 Saturday Nov 2012

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

The Estate of Bette Davis et al v. Erickson Beamon, Ltd.

Court Case Number: 1:12-cv-01687-JMS-DKL
File Date: Friday, November 16, 2012
Plaintiff: The Estate of Betty Davis, CMG Worldwide, Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: Theodore John Minch of Sovich Minch LLP
Defendant: Erickson Beamon, Ltd.
Cause: Indiana State Statutory Right of Publicity, California State Statutory Right of Publicity, Other Statutory and Common Law Rights of Publicity, Unfair Competition, Common Law Unfair Competition, Unjust Enrichment, Conversion, Deception, Indiana Crime Victims’ Act
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson
Referred To: Magistrate Judge Denise K. LaRue

Indiana Trademark Litigation Update – Net Pro Trading Card Company, LLC v. Ace Authentic Sports memorabilia, LLC

11 Monday Oct 2010

Posted by in Intellectual Property

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

Net Pro Trading Card Company, LLC v. Ace Authentic Sports memorabilia, LLC et al

Interesting case. Plaintiff Net Pro was apparently the first company to make tennis trading cards way back in 1991. Defendant also makes tennis trading cards. As part of a recent promo series, Defendant has been packaging its own cards along with older, more valuable cards of Plaintiff (e.g. a Plaintiff 2003 rookie card of Rafa Nadal, etc.) Plaintiff feels Defendant’s actions have damaged its ability to sell its own stock of older cards. Kind of a flea-market, “first sale,” nominative fair use case. Despite Plaintiff including such colorful claims as “Deception” the “Indiana Crime Victims’ Act,” I don’t think this case is an easy slam…it could definitely go 5 sets with the proper defense.

Court Case Number: 1:10-cv-01236-JMS-TAB
File Date: Thursday, September 30, 2010
Plaintiff: Net Pro Trading Card Company, LLC
Plaintiff Counsel: Theodore John Minch of Sovich Minch LLP
Defendant: Ace Authentic Sports memorabilia, LLC, John Reichel
Cause: Trademark Infringement, False Endorsement, False Advertising, Common Law Unfair Competition, Unjust Enrichment, Conversion, Deception, Indiana Crime Victims’ Act
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson
Referred To: Magistrate Judge Tim A. Baker