Tag Archives: Unjust Enrichment

Artist sues Boat Dealer over Breach of License

12 Monday Sep 2016

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

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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:

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Coach sues Knox, Indiana Convenience Store over Counterfeit Purses

05 Tuesday Apr 2016

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

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The Defendants in this lawsuit, the owners of a convenience store located in Knox, Indiana, are accused of selling counterfeit Coach merchandise. The counterfeit purses were observed for sale in the store on multiple occasions by a Coach investigator and Homeland Security Investigations officer.

Selling counterfeit merchandise is, not surprisingly, a big no-no and Coach takes its intellectual property very seriously, hence this lawsuit containing trademark, copyright and trade dress claims.

Stay tuned for updates.

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Coach, Inc. et al v. Zip Thru Mart et al

Court Case Number: 3:2016-cv-00209-JD-CAN
File Date: Monday, April 4, 2016
Plaintiff: Coach, Inc., Coach Services, Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: P. Russell Pardew of Locke Lord LLP
Defendant: Zip Thru Mart, Charles Estok, Sr., Janice Estok
Cause: Trademark Counterfeiting, Trademark Infringement, Trade Dress Infringement, False Designation of Origin, False Advertising, Trademark Dilution, Copyright Infringement, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Common Law Unfair Competition, Unjust Enrichment
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: Jon E. DeGuilio
Referred To: Christopher A. Nuechterlein

Complaint:

The Great American Bagel files Trademark Lawsuit over Rearranged Signage

25 Friday Mar 2016

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

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I’ll let the two trademarks at issue here speak for themselves – THE GREAT AMERICAN BAGEL (stylized) vs. THE GREAT AMERICAN EAGLE (nearly identically stylized). Check out the comparison images from the Complaint:

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The remarkable similarity is, not surprisingly, no coincidence. Defendant obtained an old sign previously used by Plaintiff and apparently opted to save money by just rearranging a few letters and calling his gas station/convenience store “The Great American Eagle”.

As Defendants’ convenience store sells food products, Plaintiff has alleged consumer confusion and is seeking damages and injunctive relief.

Stay tuned for updates.

The Great American Bagel Enterprises, Inc. v. United HBA Corporation et al

Court Case Number:3:16-cv-00038-RLY-MPB
File Date: Thursday, March 24, 2016
Plaintiff: The Great American Bagel Enterprises Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: Stacy K. Newton of Jackson Kelly PLLC
Defendant: United HBA Corporation and Harbhajan Singh, d/b/a The Great American Eagle
Cause: Federal Trademark Infringement, False Designation of Origin, False Advertising, Unfair Competition, Trade Name Infringement, Passing Off, Unjust Enrichment
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Richard L. Young
Referred To: Matthew P. Bookman

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):

Indiana Copyright Litigation Update: Baals LLC v. Pro Service Cleaning FW LLC

16 Tuesday Jun 2015

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

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Baals LLC organizes the Baals Music Festival, a Fort Wayne event occurring annually since 2012. Baals (named for former mayor, Harry Baals) alleges that the defendants, Electric Promotions and Desiar, started organizing similar events in Fort Wayne after seeing the success of the Baals Music Festival. Baals claims that the defendants are using promotional materials that bear striking resemblance to Baals’. They further claim that the defendants are using promotional photographs and videos owned by Baals despite multiple requests to cease.

Baals LLC v. Pro Service Cleaning FW LLC et al

Court Case Number: 1:15-cv-00148-JVB-SLC
File Date: Monday, June 15, 2015
Plaintiff: Baals LLC
Plaintiff Counsel: Daniel D. Bobilya, Brandon J. Almas of Bonahoom & Bobilya LLC
Defendant: Pro Service Cleaning FW LLC, Desiar Eyewear LLC
Cause: Unfair Competition, False Designation of Origin, Copyright Infringement, Unjust Enrichment
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: Judge Joseph S Van Bokkelen
Referred To: Magistrate Judge Susan L Collins

Indiana Copyright Litigation Update – Lake Lite v. Universal Forest Products et al

27 Monday Oct 2014

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

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This lawsuit arises from Defendants’ alleged infringement of copyrights and patents, as well as unauthorized use and misappropriation of Plaintiff’s trade secrets.

Lake Lite Inc. v. Universal Forest Products, Inc. et al

Court Case Number: 1:14-cv-00337
File Date: Friday, October 24, 2014
Plaintiff: Lake Lite Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: Michael S. McIntyre
Defendant: Universal Forest Products, Inc., Universal Consumer Products, Inc., Maine Ornamental, LLC
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Patent Infringement, Breach of Contract, Breach of Implied Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing, Violation of Indiana Uniform Trade Secret Act, Unjust Enrichment
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: Judge Jon E. DeGuilio
Referred To: Magistrate Judge Roger B. Cosbey

Complaint:

Indiana Trademark Litigation Update – Darryl D. Agler v. Westheimer Corporation

28 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by in Intellectual Property

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Alleged Infringing Product - Exhibit F to Complaint

Alleged Infringing Product – Exhibit F to Complaint

Plaintiff is a custom guitar-maker from Fort Wayne, Indiana. He has sold his high-quality guitars under the registered STRATOTONE trademark since 2007.

Plaintiff’s high-end guitars are “painstakingly hand-crafted from the wood of a customer’s choosing and features vintage hardware and pick-ups.” They generally retail for above $1,250. Defendant has allegedly flooded the market with lower quality, cheaper (between $200-400) guitars that bear the STRATOTONE Mark. Plaintiff discovered the infringing products at a NAMM show in 2010, where he confronted Defendant’s personnel.

Defendant, based in Illinois, attempted to file its own trademark application for STRATOTONE in December 2012 but was rejected based on Plaintiff’s registration. In response, Defendant has attempted to cancel Plaintiff’s registration and Plaintiff has brought this lawsuit.

Darryl D. Agler v. Westheimer Corporation

Court Case Number: 1:14-cv-00099
File Date: Thursday, March 27, 2014
Plaintiff: Darryl D. Agler
Plaintiff Counsel: Louis T. Perry, Amie P. Carter of Faegre Baker Daniels LLP
Defendant: Westheimer Corporation
Cause: Federal Unfair Competition, False Designation of Origin, Federal Trademark Infringement, Federal Trademark Counterfeiting, Common Law Unfair Competition, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Unjust Enrichment, Conversion, Deception, Indiana Crime Victim’s Relief Act
Court: Northern District of Indiana
Judge: Jon E. DeGuilio
Referred To: Roger B. Cosbey

Indiana Trademark Litigation Update – James Dean v. Twitter

10 Monday Feb 2014

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

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Screen Shot 2014-02-10 at 4.21.44 PMHere’s a potential Giant of a lawsuit.

Plaintiff, James Dean Inc., wants the @JamesDean Twitter handle. Somebody else has been using the Twitter handle since 2009 as a fan account for the Fairmount, Indiana-raised rebel movie icon. The @JamesDean account has more than 8,200 followers and has sent over 2,200 tweets. CMG Worldwide, the exclusive licensee of James Dean’s name and likeness, unable to convince Twitter to hand over the account, are now suing Twitter directly in federal court to force compliance. Twitter looks set to put up a full defense rather than subject themselves to an onslaught of username complaints.

Stay tuned for what will likely become a precedent-setting case for dead celebrity Twitter handles.

Court Case Number: 1:14-cv-00183-WTL-DML
File Date: Friday, February 07, 2014
Plaintiff: James Dean, Inc., John Doe, One, John Doe, Two, John Doe, Three, John Doe, Four
Plaintiff Counsel: Theodore J. Minch of Sovich Minch, LLP
Defendant: Twitter, Inc.
Cause: Trademark Infringement, False Endorsement, Indiana State Statutory Right of Publicity, Common Law Right of Publicity, Common Law Unfair Competition, Unjust Enrichment, Conversion, Deception, Indiana Crime Victims’ Act
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Judge William T. Lawrence
Referred To: Magistrate Judge Debra McVicker Lynch

Indiana Trademark Litigation Update – Sprint Solutions et al v. Reginald Aldridge et al

03 Monday Feb 2014

Posted by in Intellectual Property

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Plaintiff Sprint accuses three defendants of profiting from the illegal acquisition and resale of new Sprint phones. The Complaint is lengthy, detailing both Sprint’s business model and the Defendants’ alleged “Bulk Handset Theft and Trafficking Scheme,” in addition to fourteen claims. Presumably, in addition to civil penalties, the actions alleged by the Plaintiffs could also result in criminal penalties for Defendants.

Sprint Solutions, Inc. et al v. Reginald Aldridge et al

Court Case Number: 1:14-cv-00128-TWP-DML
File Date: Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Plaintiff: Sprint Solutions, Inc., Sprint Communications Company LP, Boost Worldwide, Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: Matthew B. Millis, John D. Waller of Wooden & McLaughlin LLP
Defendant: Reginald Aldridge, Arrice Aldridge, Damion Transou
Cause: Unfair Competition, Tortious Interference with Business Relationships and Prospective Advantage, Civil Conspiracy, Unjust Enrichment, Conspiracy to Induce Breach of Contract, Common Law Fraud, Fraudulent Misrepresentation, Trafficking in Computer Passwords, Unauthorized Access, Unauthorized Access with Intent to Defraud, Federal Trademark Infringement, Common Law Trademark Infringement, False Advertising, Contributory Trademark Infringement, Conversion
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Judge Tanya Walton Pratt
Referred To: Magistrate Judge Debra McVicker Lynch

Indiana Copyright Litigation Update – Redwall Live v. ESG Security

26 Tuesday Nov 2013

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

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Redwall Live Corporation v. ESG Security, Inc.

Court Case Number: 1:13-cv-01849-SEB-DML
File Date: Thursday, November 21, 2013
Plaintiff: Redwall Live Corporation
Plaintiff Counsel: Steven G. Cracraft of Brannon Sowers & Cracraft PC
Defendant: ESG Security, Inc.
Cause: Copyright Infringement, Breach of Contract, Unjust Enrichment
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Judge Sarah Evans Barker
Referred To: Magistrate Judge Debra McVicker Lynch