Indiana Intellectual Property Law News

A lawsuit originally filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana by photographer David E. Kelly has been transferred to the federal court in Arizona as of June 17, 2025. Kelly, who resides in Carmel, Indiana, brought the case against a wide range of individuals and entities, including private citizens, public officials, and corporations such as eBay and the United States Army Procurement Division. The suit alleges unauthorized reproduction, sale, and distribution of a copyrighted photograph he captured during the 2001 World Series.

According to the complaint, Kelly registered the copyright for the photo in 2002 and operated a business called Big League Photos LLC. He claims that one of the main defendants, Raymond Cedric Young, illegally reproduced and sold counterfeit versions of the photo, while fraudulently claiming to own the business. Kelly says he issued over 70 cease-and-desist notices and reached a handful of out-of-court settlements, but was unable to stop the widespread sale and distribution of the counterfeit prints.

He also alleges that former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio helped distribute the counterfeit work through charity auctions and military channels, and that judges and law enforcement in Arizona failed to act on his complaints. Kelly states that he was repeatedly denied justice through improper court delays and a lack of enforcement of previous judgments in his favor.

Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) along with several music publishers have filed yet another lawsuit in Indiana this year (previous lawsuit), this time against 5135 Emerson LLC, which operates Mikie’s Pub in Indianapolis, and against an individual named Scott Coyle. The plaintiffs allege that the defendants publicly played copyrighted songs from the BMI catalog without securing the necessary license.

According to the complaint, BMI is authorized to license performance rights for more than 22 million musical works and represents the other named plaintiffs, each of whom owns rights to one or more of the songs allegedly played without permission. BMI claims it contacted the defendants more than 75 times since January 2024 via phone, email, and mail—including sending cease and desist notices—in an effort to secure compliance and avoid legal action.

Despite these warnings, the lawsuit alleges that Mikie’s Pub continued to publicly perform music without a proper license, leading to three specific instances of copyright infringement. The complaint details the titles of the songs involved, the dates they were played, and the fact that no permission or license was obtained. BMI argues that these acts were willful and part of an ongoing pattern of infringement.

Energy Intelligence Group, Inc. and its UK-based counterpart have filed a lawsuit against Indianapolis, Indiana company, Calumet, Inc., claiming that Calumet repeatedly copied and distributed issues of the plaintiffs’ copyrighted publications—Oil Daily and Energy Intelligence News—without authorization. The lawsuit, brought in the U.S. District Court for Southern Indiana, accuses Calumet of willful copyright infringement, and seeks damages, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees.

The plaintiffs, long-time publishers in the energy sector, allege that Calumet subscribed to only one copy of their publications but shared the content with multiple employees in violation of clear copyright warnings. According to the complaint, Calumet had been a subscriber since 2004 and renewed its subscription annually for a single-copy license, which explicitly barred distribution or forwarding. Despite this, internal data from Energy Intelligence’s servers showed that, over just a few months, dozens of issues were downloaded hundreds of times on over 100 devices. This pattern, the plaintiffs argue, reveals a systematic practice of unauthorized copying and internal distribution.

The complaint outlines extensive steps taken by the publisher to warn users of copyright restrictions, including notices in emails, on their website, and within the publications themselves. It claims that Calumet ignored these warnings and refused offers to increase the number of licensed users.

Indiana Bible College has filed a lawsuit in federal court against Fred Bock Music Company, Dr. Rosephanye Powell, and up to 100 unnamed individuals or entities. The dispute centers on a piece of music titled “John 1,” which the college claims it composed independently. The defendants argue that “John 1” infringes on the copyright of Dr. Powell’s earlier musical work, “The Word Was God,” which is also based on the same passage of scripture from the Bible.  (Click on the links to hear renditions of each song.)

The conflict began when the defendants sent the college a cease-and-desist letter, asserting that “John 1” was a derivative work and constituted copyright infringement. Indiana Bible College denies these claims and insists that their composition is original and does not use any protectable elements of Dr. Powell’s work.

According to the complaint, the defendants went beyond legal demands by sharing statements online and with news outlets accusing the college of plagiarism and intellectual dishonesty. The college alleges that these statements were not only false but also harmful, damaging its reputation and disrupting relationships with students, musical collaborators, and organizations that had planned to perform or promote the piece. It also claims that the public allegations caused people to question the integrity of the composers involved and led to a loss of opportunities and trust.