Tag Archives: Federal False Designation of Origin

Carmel Teenager sued over Counterfeit Eric Emanuel Apparel

31 Thursday Oct 2024

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

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The plaintiff in this Indiana trademark lawsuit is a New York-based luxury sportswear designer, Eric Emanuel. The defendant is a Carmel, Indiana teenager allegedly selling counterfeit Eric Emanuel apparel imported from China. Per the Complaint (below), the counterfeit products are allegedly bought by the defendant from China suppliers, stored at his mother’s Carmel home, and promoted and sold online.

The fashion designer seeks the teenager’s profits, actual and compensatory damages, statutory damages, and attorneys’ fees and costs. It seems this teenager picked the wrong designer to counterfeit and what seemed like a “get rich quick” scheme could quickly turn to “get poor quick.”

Stay tuned for updates.

EE Holding Group LLC v. PDGROWTH LLC et al.

Court Case Number: 1:24-cv-01895-JPH-TAB
File Date: October 25, 2024
Plaintiff: EE Holding Group LLC
Plaintiff Counsel: Anne K. Ricchiuto of Peele Law Group
Defendant: PDGROWTH LLC, Patrick D. Garton
Cause: Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal False Designation of Origin, Federal False Endorsement, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Common Law Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: James Patrick Hanlon
Referred To: Tim A. Baker

Complaint:

JUMPSTART COMMUNICATIONS vs. JUMPSTART COMMUNICATION…are you confused?

31 Thursday Oct 2024

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

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The parties to this new Indiana trademark lawsuit have a long personal history, including previously being married, but we’re taking a look at the case for its intellectual property claims, i.e. trademark infringement between the marks JUMPSTART COMMUNICATIONS and JUMPSTART COMMUNICATION. The companies offer the same services, telecommunications construction services, in the same geographic area. The Complaint (below) provides some details about the defendant’s decision to choose a similar name, along with other allegedly damaging behavior, including solicitation of customers and employees.

Stay tuned for updates, although I don’t expect this case to last very long, at least the trademark claims. There are some additional claims that may linger even if the trademark issue is resolved, for example, by a name change.

Jumpstart Communications LLC v. Jumper et al.

Court Case Number: 1:24-cv-00447-HAB-SLC
File Date: October 22, 2024
Plaintiff: Jumpstart Communications LLC
Plaintiff Counsel: Carrie E. Sheridan, J.Blake Hike, Brendan C. Ruff, Stephanie Fleming of Carson LLP
Defendant: Ryan Jumper, Jumpstart Communication LLC
Cause: Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal False Designation of Origin, Federal Trademark Dilution, Federal Unfair Competition, RICO Violations, Breach of Fiduciary Duties, Tortious Interference with Contract, Tortious Interference with Business Relationship, Civil Theft
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: Holly A. Brady
Referred To: Susan L. Collins

Complaint:

Hot Girl Walk v. Hot Walk Indy…are you confused?

17 Wednesday Jul 2024

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

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An Indianapolis-based inclusive walking group is being sued for trademark infringement by the national walking group which had inspired its original name. The plaintiff operates a national women’s walking group called Hot Girl Walk, a name inspired by Megan Thee Stallion’s song “Hot Girl Summer.” The group promotes walking events for women across the country and has some significant sponsorships. In 2019, the defendant started a walking group called Hot Girl Walk Indy, which was later shortened to Hot Walk Indy. If this was the extent of the conflict, I suspect a federal lawsuit might never have been filed. However, while the trademark infringement claims in the Complaint (below) are the focus of this IP blog, the plaintiff was likely more concerned about an alleged series of defamatory statements, doxing, and aggressive bullying, all detailed in the Complaint. Standing alone, Hot Walk Indy might not cause a conflict with Hot Girl Walk, but when it’s combined with a group campaign of actively seeking to undermine the Hot Girl Walk brand, it puts a plaintiff in a position where they have to file a lawsuit.

It’s difficult to see how keeping the name of a relatively new local walking group would be worth the cost of defending a federal lawsuit, but perhaps the defense funds can be crowdfunded among the group. Considering the other activities detailed in the Complaint, the defendant may already be in too deep despite what name they use and the other group members may stay away for fear of being named as additional defendants.

Stay tuned for updates.

Hot Girl Walk LLC v. Springer d/b/a Hot Walk Indy

Court Case Number: 1:24-cv-01187-JMS-TAB
File Date: July 15, 2024
Plaintiff: Hot Girl Walk LLC
Plaintiff Counsel: Joseph R. Delehanty of Dickinson Wright PLLC
Defendant: Casey Springer d/b/a Hot Walk Indy
Cause: Tortious Interference with Business Relationship, Defamation, Business Disparagement, Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal Unfair Competition, Federal False Designation of Origin, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Common Law Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Jane E. Magnus-Stinson
Referred To: Tim A. Baker

Complaint:

Indianapolis Company sued for sale of Unauthorized Animal Health Supplements on Amazon

25 Tuesday Jun 2024

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

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Nutramax Laboratories (“Nutramax”) produces health supplements for companion animals. In February 2024, Nutramax filed a trademark lawsuit against a Fort Wayne company for the sale of unauthorized animal health supplements on Amazon. Nutramax is now back in the Southern District in Indiana pursuing an Indianapolis company for similar violations.

It must feel like whack-a-mole for the plaintiff’s counsel, as unauthorized resellers can disappear just as fast as they appear. Nutramax has no option but to go through this legal process in order to get Amazon to take action and remove the unauthorized sales. In the context of health supplements for animals, potentially leading to illness or death if unsafe, this plaintiff simply can’t sit back and take no action when it sees counterfeit or unauthorized sales.

Stay tuned for updates on this case and look out for the June Indiana Intellectual Property Litigation Update in the next few days for the latest on the February lawsuit (and all other pending Indiana IP cases).

Nutramax Laboratories, Inc. et al v. Abumyyaleh Bros LLC et al

Court Case Number: 1:24-cv-01047-SEB-MKK
File Date: June 20, 2024
Plaintiff: Nutramax Laboratories, Inc., Nutramax Laboratories Veterinary Sciences Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: Blake P. Holler of Krieg Default LLP
Defendant: Abumayyaleh Bros LLC, Mohammad Abumayyaleh
Cause: Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal False Designation of Origin, Federal False Description, Indiana Common Law Tortious Interference with a Contract
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: M. Kendra Klump

Complaint:

Fort Wayne Printing Company sues FortWaynePrintShop.com for Trademark Infringement, Dilution

01 Monday Apr 2024

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

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Fort Wayne Printing Company has performed printing and related services in Northeast Indiana since 1902. They have a pending federal trademark application for FORT WAYNE that successfully passed its 30-day publication window on March 28, 2024. One day later, Fort Wayne Printing Company filed a federal trademark lawsuit in Indiana against a company using the domain FortWaynePrintShop.com.

The defendant, Allen & Goel Marketing Company, has been using the domain name fortwayneprintshop.com to advertise printing and related services. When attempting to purchase services at the domain, it redirects to their primary website, http://www.printshopnation.com.

It’s possible that the marketing company directly targeted Fort Wayne Printing Company in purchasing the FortWaynePrintShop.com domain. However, they may have just purchased a bunch of geographically descriptive domains (i.e. “[cityname]printshop.com) and didn’t check whether any of those names corresponded to a pre-existing company. In the latter scenario, you might expect them to simply give up the domain without incurring a federal lawsuit. By not relinquishing the domain, it could be an indication that this particular geographic domain is especially profitable for them. Further, the FortWaynePrintShop.com domain was first created on 11/11/2011 and the Internet Archive first captured the website in May 2013, so the defendant might have a valid acquiescence or laches defense.

Apparently unable to resolve this situation with normal cease-and-desist communications, probably due to the 10+ years use of the domain name, the plaintiff now seeks court intervention in the Northern District of Indiana. The fact that the lawsuit was filed one day after the trademark application’s publication window closed may indicate that the defendant was never contacted, in order to not tip them off to the application status. Either way, stay tuned for updates.

Optical Tactics, LLC d/b/a Fort Wayne Printing Company v. Allen & Goel Marketing Company

Court Case Number: 1:24-cv-00134-HAB-SLC
File Date: March 29, 2024
Plaintiff: Optical Tactics, LLC d/b/a Fort Wayne Printing Company
Plaintiff Counsel:
Defendant: Allen & Goes Marketing Company
Cause: Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal False Designation of Origin, Federal Passing Off, Federal Unfair Competition, Trademark Dilution, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Common Law Unfair Competition, Injunctive Relief
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: Holly A. Brady
Referred To: Susan L. Collins

Complaint: