Tag Archives: Unfair Competition

Richard Bell Sues IU, Purdue, A Place for Mom

21 Wednesday Sep 2016

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Richard Bell strikes again…and again…and again. Mr. Bell has filed eight more copyright lawsuits over his Indianapolis skyline photo. Several individuals, a senior living facility, Indiana University and Purdue University all join the illustrious list of Bell defendants.

People, stop using Mr. Bell’s photographs!

Screen Shot 2016-05-27 at 6.52.34 AM

Court Case Number: 1:2016-cv-02434-TWP-DKL
File Date:  Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Buckley
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Tanya Walton Pratt
Referred To: Denise K. LaRue

Court Case Number: 1:2016-cv-02436-JMS-DML
File Date: Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Tipton
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Jane Magnus-Stinson
Referred To: Debra McVicker Lynch

Court Case Number: 1:2016-cv-02451-SEB-DML
File Date: Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: A Place for Mom, Inc.
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Debra McVicker Lynch

Court Case Number: 1:2016-cv-02463-TWP-DML
File Date: Thursday, September 15, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Indiana University
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Tanya Walton Pratt
Referred To: Debra McVicker Lynch

Court Case Number: 1:2016-cv-02482-SEB-DKL
File Date: Friday, September 16, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: East Coast Health Insurance, Inc.
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Denise K. LaRue

Court Case Number: 1:2016-cv-02488-RLY-DML
File Date: Friday, September 16, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Purdue University
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Richard L. Young
Referred To: Debra McVicker Lynch

Court Case Number: 1:206-cv-02491
File Date: Sunday, September 18, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Powell et al
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Tanya Walton Pratt
Referred To: Debra McVicker Lynch

Court Case Number: 1:2016-cv-2501
File Date: Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Hornberger Imports, Inc.
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Debra McVicker Lynch

Miami (OH) Student Apartments sued over ANNEX Trademark

21 Wednesday Sep 2016

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Since 2013, Plaintiff has used the trademark THE ANNEX in connection with nine student housing facilities in three states. Seven of the student housing facilities are in Indiana and one is in Marion, Ohio (one hour north of Columbus). Plaintiff has no trademark registration.

Defendant recently built a student housing facility in Oxford, Ohio (home of the Miami University RedHawks) called, you guessed it, Annex.

With plans to expand to other college towns, Plaintiff maintains that Defendant’s use of a similar name will cause consumer confusion. Unable to resolve their dispute with cease-and-desist communications, Plaintiff has filed this lawsuit to assert its rights to THE ANNEX in the Midwest.

Whether they wind up being called “Annex” or not, the new Oxford apartments should do fine. A nice pool and allegedly the largest clubhouse in Oxford. Looking at their Facebook page though, it will be a big shame to lose of all the cool Annex swag. They even have an “Annex”-branded shuttle bus. Based on Plaintiff’s dependence on common law rights and Defendant’s already substantial investment, I could see the Oxford team putting up a strong defense.

Stay tuned for updates.

screen-shot-2016-09-21-at-6-53-25-am

Mecca Companies Inc. d/b/a Annex Student Living v. Trinitas Ventures LLC

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-02499-WTL-MJD
File Date: Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Plaintiff: Mecca Companies Inc. d/b/a Annex Student Living
Plaintiff Counsel: Bradley M. Stohry of Reichel Story LLP
Defendant: Trinitas Ventures
Cause: Trademark Infringement, Unfair Competition, Violation of Ohio Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Common Law Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: William T. Lawrence
Referred To: Mark J. Dinsmore

Complaint:

Artist sues Boat Dealer over Breach of License

12 Monday Sep 2016

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Pursuant to an agreement, Plaintiff created and applied artwork to a limited number of Defendant’s boats.

Defendant is alleged to have continued selling boats with substantially similar artwork outside the terms of the original license.

The Art of Design, Inc. v. Pontoon Boat, LLC et al

Court Case Number: 3:16-cv-00595-JVB-JEM
File Date: Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Plaintiff: The Art Of Design, Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: John D. LaDue, Sean J. Quinn of LaDue | Curran | Kuehn
Defendant: Pontoon Boat, LLC d/b/a Bennington and Bennington Marine, Hawkeye Boat Sales
Cause: Breach of Contract, Unjust Enrichment, Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition, Inducing Copyright Infringement, Violations of DMCA
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: Joseph S. Van Bokkelen
Referred To: John E. Martin

Complaint:

Exhibit A:

screen-shot-2016-09-12-at-12-14-38-pm

Great Divide Brewing sues Red Yeti Brewing over Yeti trademarks

06 Monday Jun 2016

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Denver-based Great Divide Brewing Company has been using the registered trademark YETI in connection with “Beer and Ale” since 2005. Specifically, Great Divide has a range of imperial stouts utilizing the Yeti word mark and a design mark of the outline of a yeti, the pose closely emulating the gait from the famous Bigfoot video. Great Divide’s yeti is usually white on packaging and marketing materials, but sometimes red.

Screen Shot 2016-06-06 at 6.22.07 AM

Jeffersonville, Indiana-based The Red Yeti, a restaurant/brewpub serving a limited selection of its own beer (currently a porter and hefeweizen), recently celebrated its second anniversary. Their logo is, not surprisingly, a red yeti in the typical walking pose.

Screen Shot 2016-06-06 at 6.17.42 AM

When Red Yeti failed to satisfactorily meet Great Divide’s cessation demands, this lawsuit was filed. Stay tuned for updates.

Great Divide Brewing Company v. Red Yeti Brewing Company, Inc.

Court Case Number: 4:16-cv-00084-TWP-DML
File Date: Friday, June 3, 2016
Plaintiff: Great Divide Brewing Company
Plaintiff Counsel: Michael W. McClain, Robert W. DeWees, III of McClain DeWees, PLLC
Defendant: Red Yeti Brewing Company, Inc.
Cause: Trademark Infringement, Unfair Competition, False Designation of Origin, Federal Dilution, Common Law Unfair Competition, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Deceptive Trade Practices
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Tanya Walton Pratt
Referred To: Debra McVicker Lynch

Complaint:

Richard Bell sues infant health organization over use of Indy skyline photo in a 2011 PowerPoint presentation

27 Friday May 2016

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Richard Bell’s skyline photo crusade continues, this time against an organization “committed to improving birth outcomes and health disparities that exist within communities of color throughout the United States.”

In 2011, the National Healthy Start Association held its annual Spring Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. One presentation focused specifically on Indianapolis’ efforts to enhance infant survival and family well-being. One slide of the accompanying PowerPoint included 4 photographs of Indianapolis, one of which was Mr. Bell’s skyline photo. You can view the full PowerPoint and the allegedly infringing slide here.

Five years later, Google Images apparently found the image buried within the old PowerPoint and Mr. Bell pounced.

Let this be a lesson to all PowerPoint presenters…time does not exist on the internet. Even old uses of photos from past slideshows need to be checked and cleared of potential copyright infringement. If Google can find it, so can zealous rights holders. Copyright law is strict liability (meaning your intent doesn’t matter, just whether you did it or not) and while fair use defenses might save the day here, litigation is still time-intensive and expensive.

Screen Shot 2016-05-27 at 6.52.34 AM.png

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-01301-JMS-DKL
File Date: Thursday, May 26, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: National Healthy Start Association
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Jane Magnus-Stinson
Referred To: Denise K. LaRue

Complaint:

Today’s Richard Bell copyright targets…Marian University, a business brokerage, 2 real estate firms and a moving company

16 Monday May 2016

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Proving that he’s neither superstitious nor a resting man, Richard Bell has filed five more copyright infringement lawsuits, two on Friday the 13th and three on Saturday. No rest for the wicked…at least those wicked enough to find Mr. Bell’s Indianapolis skyline photo on Google Images and use it on their website without permission.

Today’s targets include Marian University, a business brokerage, 2 real estate firms and a moving company.

Use the “Richard Bell” tag at left to find his other litigation.

Screen Shot 2016-05-16 at 4.10.54 PM

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-01197-SEB-MJD
File Date: Friday, May 13, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Sunbelt Business Advisors of Indiana
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Mark J. Dinsmore

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-01199-SEB-MJD
File Date: Friday, May 13, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Marian University, Inc.
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Mark J. Dinsmore

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-01207-SEB-MJD
File Date: Saturday, May 14, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Vivona & Peyton
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Mark J. Dinsmore

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-01208-TWP-MPB
File Date: Saturday, May 14, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Top Class Moving, Inc.
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Tanya Walton Pratt
Referred To: Matthew P. Brookman

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-01209-SEB-DML
File Date: Saturday, May 14, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Profusion 360
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Debra McVicker Lynch

Representative Complaint:

Richard Bell sues Forensics Expert over use of Indianapolis skyline photo

13 Friday May 2016

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

It’s official…this being the third day in a row of him filing copyright lawsuits, we have another Richard Bell litigation spree! It had been awhile but Mr. Bell is apparently making up for lost time. Stay tuned to this blog over the next few days as we find out just how many people unwittingly used Mr. Bell’s Indianapolis skyline photographs.

In this action, Mr. Bell is suing a forensics consultant/trainer from Kansas City who used a skyline photo on his company’s website back in 2014.

Use the “Richard Bell” tag at left to find his other litigation.

Screen Shot 2016-05-13 at 8.13.29 AM

Richard N. Bell v. Maloney

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-01193-RLY-DML
File Date: Thursday, May 12, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Michael Maloney
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Richard L. Young
Referred To: Debra McVicker Lynch

Complaint:

Richard Bell sues Real Estate Company over use of Indianapolis skyline photo

12 Thursday May 2016

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Use the “Richard Bell” tag at left to find other similar litigation involving these Indianapolis skyline photographs.

Screen Shot 2016-05-12 at 6.16.58 AM.png

Richard N. Bell v. Carmen Commercial Real Estate Services

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-01174-TWP-MPB
File Date: Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Carmen Commercial Real Estate Services
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Tanya Walton Pratt
Referred To: Matthew P. Brookman

Complaint:

Richard Bell files two more lawsuits over Indianapolis skyline photos

11 Wednesday May 2016

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

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Somehow there are still people out there using Richard Bell’s Indianapolis skyline photos on their website, despite years of reporting about it here on this blog!

This time around, Mr. Bell’s photos have snared a lawyer and an IT staffing firm.

People, don’t use Richard Bell’s Indianapolis skyline photos! He WILL sue you.

Indianapolis Skyline but NOT Richard Bell's Indianapolis Skyline

Use the “Richard Bell” tag at left to view his past lawsuits.

Bell v. TeamSoft, Inc.

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-01159-SEB-DML
File Date: Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: TeamSoft, Inc.
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Debra McVicker Lynch

Bell v. Patrick

Court Case Number: 1:16-cv-01160-TWP-DML
File Date: Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Plaintiff: Richard N. Bell
Plaintiff Counsel: Richard N. Bell of Bell Law Firm
Defendant: Michael F.S. Patrick
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Unfair Competition
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Tanya Walton Pratt
Referred To: Debra McVicker Lynch

Representative 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: