Indiana Intellectual Property Law News

Indianapolis, IN - Federal authorities, led by the Homeland Security Investigations division of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), have seized counterfeit Super Bowl goods, shut down websites and made one arrest in a targeted effort to crack down on counterfeit sports goods and websites. According to a government press release, federal authorities seized fake jerseys, caps, t-shirts and other souvenirs illegally bearing NFL and other sports trademarks, trade names and copyrights. According to the press release, the operation has been ongoing since October 2011 and culminated in the raids and arrest on Thursday, February 2. The total value of the goods seized was reported to be $4.8 million.

Indianapolis Metro Police Department also participated in the operation, which focused on street vendors in and around the Indianapolis Super Bowl village as well as counterfeit sellers around the world. According to a news report, a store called Off the Wall in Fort Wayne was one of the stores raided by federal agents.

The operation, dubbed Operation Fake Sweep, also targeted websites that illegally stream sports events and sell counterfeit goods. Over 300 websites were shut down. Yonjo Quiroa of Michigan was the sole person arrested. He has been charged with criminal copyright infringement based on his alleged operation of websites that illegally streamed live sporting events. According to news report, many of the websites selling counterfeit goods were from.

Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Department of Justice and National Crime Prevention Council have launched a new website designed to educate the public about intellectual property theft. The site focuses on four types of criminal intellectual property theft: counterfeit drugs, pirated products, fake consumer goods, and gangs and organized crime. The site provides background on the extent of the intellectual property theft in the United States and the impact on the economy. For example the site states "More than 250,000 more people could be employed in the U.S. automotive industry if it weren't for the trade in counterfeit parts."

The website is part of a larger campaign by the Department of Justice to raise public awareness about intellectual property theft. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holdergave a speech earlier this week to launch the campaign. Attorney General Holder stated "For far too long, the sale of counterfeit, defective, and dangerous goods has been perceived as "business as usual." But these and other IP crimes can destroy jobs, suppress innovation, and jeopardize the health and safety of consumers."

Washington, D.C. - The United States House of Representatives is considering a bill directed as providing law enforcement more tools to stop illegal online file sharing and copyright infringement. The bill, titled the "Stop Online Piracy Act," was introduced by Representative Lamar Smith of Texas on October 26, 2011. The bill would authorize the Department of Justice to seek a court order requiring alleged infringers as well as domain names and websites to immediately cease any activities that are intellectual property criminal offenses. The bill would also create a new mechanism for seeking limited injunctive relief against the owners of domain names and websites to stop infringement occurring through their sites and domains. The bill also expands the definition of criminal copyright infringement to include public performance of copyrighted work by digital transmission or making work intended for commercial dissemination available on a computer network. The bill is also being called the E-PARISITE Act ("the Enforcing and Protecting American Rights Against Sites Intent on Theft and Exploitation Act").

The bill is drawing criticism from a number of corners. Specifically, some critics have noted that the bill would allow the government or private parties to shut down entire websites, not just infringing content. A report from John Moe of NPR's Marketplace, quotes extensively from Professor Mark Lemley of Stanford Law School, who stated ""What's remarkable about this provision is that it would allow the government and in many cases private parties to come into court, get a temporary restraining order without the participation of the accused website and shut down not just the infringing material, but the whole website."

The bill was referred to the House Judiciary subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet, of which Indiana Congressman Mike Pence is a member.

Indianapolis, IN - Chief Judge ROBB of the Court of Appeals for Indiana has issued an opinion regarding An-Hung Yao and Yu-Ting Lin Houston, Texas; who were charged with counterfeiting, theft, and corrupt business influence Huntington County, Indiana Circuit Court based upon the sale of toy guns that allegedly infringement federally registered trademarks.

Defendant Lin operates a business in Houston, Texas called Generation Guns, which imports toy guns from Taiwan and sells the toy guns to the public, including the GA-112 Airsoft gun. Defendant Yao is the vice-president of a Houston bank and is a friend of Lin who allegedly occasionally helps Lin with the Generation Guns business. In 2009, firearms manufacturer Heckler & Koch engaged Continental Enterprises of Indianapolis, to investigate possible trademark infringement claims of H&K's federally registered trademarks. Continental Enterprises placed orders with Generation Guns for several guns that it believed to infringe H&K's trademarks and had the products delivered to addresses in Huntington County, Indiana. Continental Enterprises then filed a report with the Indiana State Police. The prosecuting attorney in Huntington County then charged Lin and Yao each with three counts of counterfeiting, three counts of theft, and one count of corrupt business influence "based upon the similarities between the GA-112 airsoft guns and H&K's firearm."

The defendants had filed a motion to dismiss in the trial court arguing that the court did not have jurisdiction since all the alleged act occurred in Texas and also argued that the toy gun was not a "written instrument" for the purposes of the counterfeiting crime. The trial court found that it did have jurisdiction, but dismissed the counterfeiting claim, finding that toy was not a "written instrument." In this interlocutory appeal, the Court of Appeals reversed and held that the trial court should have dismissed the case since Indiana did not have territorial jurisdiction. The court looked to Indiana Code 35-41-1-1(b), which states that Indiana has jurisdiction if conduct or a result that is an element of the crime occurred in Indiana. The court noted that jurisdiction in a criminal case is a factual issue for the jury to determine. However, the court noted that there was no factual dispute about whether the acts occurred in Texas, and therefore, the case should have been dismissed as a matter of law. The court did not address the claim that the toy gun was not a written instrument.

Practice Tip: This case is interesting to Indiana intellectual property attorneys for a number of reasons. First, it involves Continental Enterprises, a frequent litigant in Indiana intellectual property lawsuit. Indiana Intellectual Property Law News has previously blogged about Continental Enterprises cases here.

Secondly, this case addresses the unique issue of territorial jurisdiction for criminal actions. In this case the court looked to Indiana Code 35-41-1-1(b), which states that Indiana has jurisdiction if conduct or a result that is an element of the crime occurred in Indiana. The court noted that jurisdiction in a criminal case is a factual issue for the jury to determine. However, the court noted that there was no factual dispute about whether the acts occurred in Texas, and therefore, the case should have been dismissed as a matter of law. This is a different standard than Indiana courts' personal jurisdiction for purposes of civil liability.

Continue reading "The Court of Appeals for Indiana Dismisses Counterfeiting, Theft and Corrupt Business Criminal Charges Based On Alleged Trademark Infringement Suit Involving Sale of Toy Guns." »

Los Angeles, CA - Wesley DeSoto of Los Angeles, California has pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal copyright infringement in a rare federal criminal prosecution of copyright infringement, which was brought in the Central District of California. Mr. DeSoto allegedly uploaded copies of the copyrighted films Black Swan, The Fighter, The King's Speech, 127 Hours and Rabbit Hole on to the website The Pirate Bay. Mr. DeSoto allegedly used the bittorrent protocol to share these films in January 2011 using the username "mf34inc." According to Wired.com, the FBI raided Mr. DeSoto's apartment earlier this year after being alerted of the alleged infringement by the Motion Picture Association of America. Mr. DeSoto is an actor and member of the Screen Actor's Guild. He had obtained advanced copies of the films through his SAG membership. Investigators were able to identify Mr. DeSoto as "mf34inc" by tracing username's Internet Protocol address to Mr. DeSoto.

On September 12, 2011, Mr. DeSoto and copyright infringement attorneys at U.S. Attorney's Office filed a plea agreement with the court. Mr. DeSoto agreed to plead guilty and the U.S. Attorney's Office is recommending a sentence of three years of probation. The judge in the case, however, will not be bound by the sentencing recommendation. The offense carries a maximum sentence of three years of incarceration.

Continue reading "Rare Criminal Conviction for Copyright Infringement for Unauthorized Online File Sharing of Film Black Swan" »