Tag Archives: Photography

Liebowitz files Photography Lawsuit in Northern District of Indiana

20 Wednesday Jan 2021

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

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Famous (infamous) plaintiff’s lawyer Richard Liebowitz has filed another copyright lawsuit in Indiana over the unauthorized use of a photograph of Murlough Bay in Northern Ireland. The photograph has been removed from the Defendant’s website, http://www.anglotopia.net, but the Defendant was apparently not willing to meet Liebowitz’s customary settlement demands and thus a lawsuit was filed.

With a Complaint filed, it’s usual for the Defendant in these cases to weigh the costs/benefits of proceeding and likely choose to settle for a slightly higher amount than pre-Complaint. However, we’ll keep a close eye on this lawsuit to see whether Defendant has a viable defense strategy or whether they are just biding time until the eventual settlement.

Murlough Bay, Northern Ireland

Scnhebelt v. Anglotopia, LLC

Court Case Number: 3:21-cv-00040-JD-MGG
File Date: January 18, 2021
Plaintiff: Stefan Schnebelt
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard Liebowitz of Liebowitz Law Firm, PLLC
Defendant: Anglotopia, LLC
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Integrity of Copyright Management Information
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: Jon E. DeGuilio
Referred To: Michael G Gotsch, Sr.

Complaint:

Copyright Lawsuit filed over Photograph of a Leaf in Water

09 Wednesday Oct 2019

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

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The Defendant in this copyright infringement lawsuit is alleged to have used Plaintiff’s photograph of “a leaf in water” without authorization. The Plaintiff is a German professional photographer and the Defendant is a corporation based in Elkhart, Indiana.

Stay tuned for updates.

Steeger v. Good Living Enterprises Inc.

Court Case Number: 3:19-cv-00877-PPS-MGG
File Date: October 5, 2019
Plaintiff: Paul Steiger
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard P. Liebowitz of Liebowitz Law Firm, PLLC
Defendant: Good Living Enterprises Inc.
Cause: Copyright Infringement
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: Philip P. Simon
Referred To: Michael G. Gotsch, Sr.

Complaint:

Unauthorized Use of John Lennon Photograph leads to Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

22 Monday Jul 2019

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

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The Defendant in this copyright infringement lawsuit is alleged to have used Plaintiff’s photograph of John Lennon and Yoko Ono without authorization.

The Plaintiff is a New York-based photographer and the Defendant is a Delaware LLC located in Elkhart, Indiana. The registered Lennon/Ono photograph was apparently included on Defendant’s website, maps.roadtrippers.com, as part of a “Rock and Roll Deaths Tour.”

Most photograph copyright lawsuits, particularly those involving just one photograph, are able to settle early. We’ll continue to monitor this lawsuit so stay tuned for updates.

Tannenbaum v. The2Connect, LLC

Court Case Number: 3:19-cv-00555-PPS-MGG
File Date: Friday, July 19, 2019
Plaintiff: Allan Tannenbaum
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard Liebowitz
Defendant: The2Connect, LLC
Cause: Copyright Infringement
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: Philip P. Simon
Referred To: Michael G. Gotsch, Sr.

First Amended Complaint:

 

Photos, Bongs and Blueprints dominate the March Indiana IP Docket

01 Monday Apr 2019

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

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The Indiana intellectual property docket continues to be dominated by photography and counterfeit bong cases. In March 2019, RooR International continued their crusade against Indiana smoke and vape shops. Many of the smoke shop defendants have seen the advantage of “strength in numbers” and retained the same defense attorney to assist with a common defense.

Sadly, another 10 defendants, including Eli Lilly, the National Association of Realtors, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (!), were caught up in Richard Bell’s skyline photo litigation web. I’ll be curious to see whether these organization’s high-priced lawyers can figure out a different resolution than previous Bell defendants.

Design Basics, a regular copyright plaintiff, returns to protect a set of its architectural drawings.

Let’s all keep our fingers crossed for an interesting trademark case to be filed in April.  I’ll be the first to let you know.

Photography

  • Richard Bell  – 10
  • Oppenheimer
  • Iwasaki

Counterfeit Bongs

  • RooR International BV – 7

Architectural Drawings

  • Design Basics LLC

Screen Shot 2019-04-01 at 6.17.51 AM.png

Copyright lawsuit filed over Chicago skyscraper photograph

20 Wednesday Mar 2019

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

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Here’s yet another photography copyright lawsuit, this one involving the unauthorized reproduction and public display of a photograph of skyscrapers in Chicago.

The defendant, a corporation based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, allegedly used a  registered skyscraper photograph of plaintiff, an Oregon-based photographer, on their website without authorization.

Other than the RooR counterfeit bong cases, photography cases are the only ones being filed lately. Although I don’t expect anything unusual in this case, and predict a quick settlement, I’ll continue to monitor the lawsuit to see how it might differ from the multitudinous Bell cases.

Iwasaki v. Apollo Design Technology, Inc.

Court Case Number: 1:19-cv-00094
File Date: Monday, March 18, 2019
Plaintiff: Rich Iwasaki
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard Liebowitz of Liebowitz Law Firm, PLLC
Defendant: Apollo Design Technology, Inc.
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Integrity of Copyright Management Information
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: TBD
Referred To: TBD

Complaint: