Tag Archives: Sarah Evans Barker

Copyright Lawsuit filed against Indiana Conservative News Site over New York Migrant Hotel Photo

05 Friday Jul 2024

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

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Here is yet another copyright lawsuit over the unauthorized use of a photograph. The plaintiff is a New York-based photographer and the defendant is a conservative news site based in Clark County, Indiana. The photograph was of a group of migrants being kicked out of the Watson Hotel in New York City.

Stay tuned to see whether the conservative site decides to pay an attorney and assert a fair use defense or simply settle the lawsuit by paying a license fee.

Miller v. Empire News LLC

Court Case Number: 4:24-cv-00091-SEB-KMB
File Date: June 26, 2024
Plaintiff: William Miller
Plaintiff Counsel: Renee Aragona of Sanders Law Group
Defendant: Empire News LLC
Cause: Direct Copyright Infringement, Removal and Alteration of Copyright Management Information
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Kellie M. Barr

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:

Photography Lawsuit filed against Carmel Vietnamese Restaurant

16 Thursday Nov 2023

Posted by in Copyright, Indiana, Indianapolis, Intellectual Property, Litigation

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It seems we can’t go more than a few days without a new photography copyright lawsuit in Indiana. The defendant this time is a Carmel, Indiana-based Vietnamese restaurant called Pho Real. They apparently used one of the plaintiff’s photographs of noodles, which I’m guessing they found on Google Images, on their restaurant’s website without authorization.

Businesses, you should prioritize an immediate audit of your company’s website to determine whether you have authority (via ownership, license, fair use, etc.) to use every photograph. If not, even if it’s just a blurry partial photo, it seems that your use could quickly become the subject of a federal copyright lawsuit.

Matsumoto v. Pho Real LLC

Court Case Number: 1:23-cv-02059-SEB-KMB
File Date: November 15, 2023
Plaintiff: Shoichi Matsumoto
Plaintiff Counsel: Jay Campbell Miller of SRIPLAW, P.A.
Defendant: Pho Real LLC
Cause: Copyright Infringement
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Kellie M. Barr

Complaint:

Two Indiana Valve Companies involved in Trade Dress Lawsuit over Yellow Valve Handles

02 Monday Oct 2023

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

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Banjo Corporation of Crawfordsville, Indiana, designs, manufactures, distributes, and sells control valves for regulating the flow of liquids in hoses and pipes. Since 1994, Banjo’s valves have had distinctive yellow-colored handles. Banjo currently sells approximately 150 types of control valves, all bearing the distinctive yellow handles.

Green Leaf of Fontanet, Indiana, has been selling control valves with green handles since 1983. In 2019, after hiring 2 ex-Banjo employees, Green Leaf launched a line of yellow-handled valves. Green Leaf’s new valve line uses the name TERREMAX.

In a lawsuit filed in the Southern District of Indiana, Banjo accuses Green Leaf of violating its trade dress in the yellow valve handles. The name TERREMAX is also allegedly meant to imitate Banjo’s line of TERRE and TERRE KNIFE products. The Complaint (below) details other alleged deceptive conduct by Green Leaf, but we’ll be most interested in watching the trade dress claim for the yellow handle design.

Stay tuned for updates.

Banjo Corporation v. Green Leaf, Inc.

Court Case Number: 1:23-cv-01770-SEB-MG
File Date: September 29, 2023
Plaintiff: Banjo Corporation
Plaintiff Counsel: Dwight D. Lueck of Barnes & Thornburg, LLP, Jonathan E. Moskin of Foley & Lardner LLP
Defendant: Green Leaf, Inc.
Cause: Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal Trade Dress Infringement, Federal Unfair Competition, Federal False Designations of Origin, Federal False Advertising, Common Law Unfair Competition, Common Law Trademark Infringement
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Mario Garcia

Complaint:

Knockoff Chinese Jewelry prompts Indiana Copyright Lawsuit

12 Wednesday Apr 2023

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

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An Indiana copyright lawsuit has been filed by Taylor Shaye Designs, a jewelry designer and retailer/wholesaler from Louisiana.

The defendant, located in Whitestown, Indiana, is the apparent U.S. sales and distribution arm of the global Shein conglomerate, a Chinese online fast fashion retailer that is known for selling inexpensive apparel, jewelry, and other accessories.

The defendant is accused of copying the plaintiff’s registered “Let’s Go Girls” jewelry design.

The standard for determining whether the reproduction right in a copyrighted work has been infringed is “substantial similarity.” Blog readers can judge for themselves whether the above designs have substantial similarity. Hopefully the lawsuit will see an argument that the designs are not substantially similar but I anticipate either a jurisdictional challenge or a discrete settlement as the most likely outcomes. Either way, stay tuned to this blog for updates.

Taylor Shaye Designs LLC v. Shein Distribution Corp.

Court Case Number: 1:23-cv-00624-SEB-TAB
File Date: April 11, 2023
Plaintiff: Taylor Shaye Designs LLC
Plaintiff Counsel: Bradley M. Stohry of Reichel Story Dean LLP
Defendant: Shein Distribution Corp.
Cause: Direct Copyright Infringement, Vicarious Copyright Infringement
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Tim A. Baker

Complaint: