Tag Archives: Federal Unfair Competition

Klipsch sues eBay Seller for Unauthorized Sale of Speakers

04 Wednesday May 2016

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

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Klipsch, manufacturer of high-end audio speakers, is suing an eBay seller, HumanAudio, for unauthorized sales of its speakers.

In addition to selling “brand new” Klipsch speakers at discounted prices, the defendant is also accused of removing and replacing serial numbers, thus voiding any Klipsch warranty for the unwary end customer. Allowing an unauthorized licensor to continue with discounted sales undermines authorized distributors who must contractually maintain higher prices. Pressure from both authorized distributors and customers left without a warranty essentially forces legal action from Klipsch in this situation.

HumanAudio’s Klipsch speaker sales appear to continue unabated. Stay tuned for updates.

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Klipsch Group, Inc. v. Steve Myers d/b/a HumanAudio

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-01034-WTL-MPB
File Date: Tuesday, May 3, 2016
Plaintiff: Klipsch Group, Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: Dean E. McConnell of Indiano & McConnell LLC
Defendant: Steve Myers d/b/a HumanAudio
Cause: Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: William T. Lawrence
Referred To: Matthew P. Brookman

Complaint:

Sign Company sues Former Employee for Trademark Infringement and Unfair Competition

18 Monday Apr 2016

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

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Defendant, a former employee of Plaintiff, is alleged to use have used Plaintiff’s company resources to benefit his own competing business. The Complaint (below) describes in detail (truly…the Complaint goes up to Exhibit JJJ) how Defendant apparently falsely claimed credit for Plaintiff’s past achievements and client relationships.

Stay tuned for updates.

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Landmark Signs Inc v. I C U Outdoor Advertising LLC et al

Court Case Number: 2:16-cv-00128-RLM-JEM
File Date: Friday, April 15, 2016
Plaintiff: Landmark Signs Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: Cori A. Mathis of Hilbrich Cunningham Dobosz Vinovich & Sandoval, LLC
Defendant: I C U Advertising LLC, Lawrence M. Yurko
Cause: Federal Unfair Competition, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, State Unfair Competition, Tortious Interference with a Business Relationship, Tortious Interference with a Prospective Economic Advantage, Illinois Deceptive Trade Practices, Federal Trademark Infringement, State Trademark Infringement, Illinois Trademark Infringement
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: Robert L. Miller, Jr.
Referred To: John E. Martin

Complaint:

Indiana Trademark Litigation Update – NETZSCH PREMIER TECHNOLOGIES, LLC v. PHLER FEINMAHLTECHNIK GMBH et al

11 Monday Apr 2016

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

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Defendant is alleged to be involved in the advertising, promotion, and sale of counterfeit mixers, dispersers, mills, and related products.

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NETZSCH PREMIER TECHNOLOGIES, LLC v. PHLER FEINMAHLTECHNIK GMBH et al

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-00781-WTL-MPB
File Date: Friday, April 8, 2016
Plaintiff: NETZSCH PREMIER TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
Plaintiff Counsel: Jeffrey Kose, Patrick F.X. Fitzpatrick, Jr. of Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Fronoff LLP
Defendant: PHLER FEINMAHLTECHNIK GMBH et al
Cause: Trademark Counterfeiting, Trademark Infringement, False Designation of Origin, False Description, Federal Unfair Competition, Common Law Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: William T. Lawrence
Referred To: Matthew P. Bookman

Complaint:

 

Hoverboard Maker Swagway Sued by UL for Trademark Counterfeiting

19 Friday Feb 2016

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

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If you live anywhere near an electrical outlet (meaning all of you except those few remaining readers of the Indiana IP Zine), you’ve likely seen the Plaintiff’s trademark.

Plaintiff’s UL Certification Marks appear on “billions of household, consumer, commercial, and industrial products including refrigeration equipment, lighting products, cable, wiring, building materials, life safety vests, electric signs, batteries and power packs for computers and consumer electronics, traffic signals, sprinklers, and cash registers.”

The “UL” mark certifies that the product has been tested, inspected and satisfies applicable safety standards. Turn over whatever electrical device is closest and the “UL” probably is on there somewhere. (If not, back away slowly…) 

Defendant makes and sells the explosively popular Swagway hoverboard. Despite having never been tested nor inspected by UL, the Swagway product “allegedly used a mark that is identical to or substantially indistinguishable from the UL Certification Marks to falsely suggest that their Swagway hoverboard products have been tested, inspected, and certified by Plaintiff.”

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Further claims by Defendant’s CEO that the product was UL-certified along with significant safety concerns about the product, detailed in the Complaint below, led to this lawsuit.

UL LLC v. Swagway, LLC et al

Court Case Number: 3:16-cv-00075-RLM-CAN
File Date: Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Plaintiff: UL LLC
Plaintiff Counsel: Thomas F. Waggoner of Straub, Seamen & Allen, P.C.
Defendant: Swagway, LLC, Jianqing “Johnny” Zhu
Cause: Federal Trademark Counterfeiting, Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal Unfair Competition, False Designation of Origin, False Advertising, Violation of the Illinois Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: Robert L. Miller, Jr.
Referred To: Christopher A. Nuechterlein

Complaint:

Indiana publication Rough Notes sues over “plaque” solicitations

09 Tuesday Feb 2016

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

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Most professionals will be familiar with the type of solicitation involved in this lawsuit.

Defendant, based in Connecticut, sells customized plaques for people and companies that have been featured in newspapers or magazines. Defendant promotes its product by directly emailing (repeatedly) the individuals featured in the magazine/newspaper with a solicitation to purchase a customized plaque featuring the article. (See examples in the photo and Exhibit C below.) Defendant’s products consist of a scanned copy of the article and publication’s title inserted into an acrylic, wood or aluminum frame. Defendant has allegedly sold over 200,000 plaques.

Plaintiff, a long-standing Indiana publication focused on insurance agents, is one target of Defendant’s activities. Notably, Plaintiff also provides its own free high-quality reprint plaques to individuals profiled in its magazine. Plaintiff brings this lawsuit against Defendant based on the unauthorized use of its trademark and copyrighted materials, among other claims.

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The Rough Notes Company, Inc. v. That’s Great News, LLC

Court Case Number: 1:2016-cv-00319
File Date: Monday, February 8, 2016
Plaintiff: The Rough Notes Company, Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: David J. Carr, Paul C. Sweeney, Jana E. Harris of Ice Miller LLP
Defendant: That’s Great News, LLC
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Federal Unfair Competition, False Designation of Origin, Federal Trademark Infringement, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Federal Trademark Dilution, Common Law Unfair Competition, Unjust Enrichment
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Mark J. Dinsmore

Complaint:

Exhibit C (Sample e-mail solicitations):