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Indianapolis, Indiana – Attorneys for Plaintiff, Trade Design Studio LLC (“TDS”) of Indianapolis,Photo2 Indiana filed suit in the Southern District of Indiana alleging that Defendants, 1824 Carrollton LLC of Fishers, Indiana, T.A.K.E 3 Investments LLC of Camby, Indiana, and Tena Allen of Camby, Indiana, infringed its rights in United States Copyright Registration No. VA 2-142-029. Plaintiff is seeking judgment, damages, reasonable attorney’s fees, and any other appropriate relief.

According to the complaint, TDS is a residential architectural design firm that has designed homes for clients primarily in Herron Morton Place, Fall Creek Place, and Kennedy King neighborhoods in downtown Indianapolis since 2006. TDS claims that no two of its homes are exactly alike. TDS alleges it drafted technical drawings (the “Technical Drawings”) for a new home to be built at 2134 N. New Jersey Street, Indianapolis, Indiana in 2017 (the “TDS Home”). According to TDS, the home was completed in April 2018 and sold for $700,000 in May 2018.

After the home sold, TDS applied for Certificates of Copyright Registration for the Technical Drawings, Registration No. VAu 1-350-598, and the Architectural Work, Registration No. VA 2-142-029. TDS claims they were informed of a home being built at 1824 Carrollton Avenue (the “Carrollton Home”) in the Kennedy King Neighborhood that was very similar to the TDS Home around February 28, 2019. Once TDS accessed and reviewed the construction permits and drawings for the Carrollton Home, it claims they were virtually identical to those for the TDS Home.

According to the publicly accessible information TDS found, it believes Tena Allen and T.A.K.E. 3 Investments applied for the construction permits and submitted the technical drawings for the Carrollton Home. Further, TDS believes 1824 Carrollton LLC is the current owner of the property for the Carrollton Home. TDS alleges it sent Defendants a cease and desist letter on March 28, 2019 and after a short suspension of construction to explore negotiations, Defendants resumed construction on or about April 8, 2019.

TDS is seeking damages for copyright infringement, conversion, and criminal conversion pursuant to the Indiana Crime Victims Recovery Act.

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Judge Cale J. Bradford of the Indiana Court of Appeals issued the Opinion in the case of Heraeus Medical, LLC, Devin Childers, Robert Kolbe (“Kolbe”), James “Worth” Burns, Paul Cruz, and Kyle Kolbe (collectively “Appellants-Defendants”) versus Zimmer, Inc., d/b/a Zimmer Biomet, and Zimmer US, Inc. (collectively “Appellees-Plaintiffs”). The Appellants-Defendants appealed a preliminary injunction issued by the trial court in which Kolbe was ordered to abide by his non-compete and non-solicitation agreement with Zimmer and Heraeus MedicalHeraeus-BlogPhoto-204x300 was ordered to not disclose or use confidential information received from Heraeus GmbH or employ or engage the individual Appellants-Defendants. The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded the case with further instructions.

Zimmer Surgical, a subsidiary of Zimmer, Inc. entered into a Distribution Agreement with Heraeus Medical GmbH in January 2012 pursuant to which Heraeus Medical GmbH granted to Zimmer Surgical an exclusive license to distribute, promote, market, and sell specific bone cements (“Palacos”) it manufactured. Zimmer has since allegedly developed its own line of bone cement. On January 3, 2018, within the final year of the initial term of the Distribution Agreement, Heraeus Medical GmbH elected to make the Distribution Agreement non-exclusive for the final year. Heraeus Medical GmbH had, by that point, set up a direct sales force through Heraeus Medical, LLC, which had hired several former Zimmer Biomet employees including the individual Appellants-Defendants in this case.

Appellees-Plaintiffs filed their complaint against the Appellants-Defendants on February 23, 2018 for “(1) breach of contract against the individual defendants; (2) tortious interference with contracts against Heraeus; and (3) and tortious interference with business relationships, civil conspiracy, and unfair competition against all defendants.” Preliminary injunctions to stop violations of the individual non-compete and non-solicitation agreements were also sought at that time.

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HerffJones-BlogPhoto-300x114Indianapolis, Indiana – Herff Jones, based in Indianapolis, Indiana won a multimillion-dollar case against its largest competitor, Jostens Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Herff Jones also won significant judgments against John Wiggins and Chris Urnis, former employees of Herff Jones distributor, Brent Gilbert of GradPro Recognition Products in the same case.

Jostens began negotiating employment agreements with Wiggins and Urnis prior to their leaving GradPro, despite their having strict noncompete agreements with GradPro, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit further claimed one of Jostens authorized representatives took at least five employees from GradPro in an effort to take away business from Herff Jones.

Jostens lost the suit as the jury found it conspired and stole confidential and trade secret information and interfered with Herff Jones’ employment contracts. The jury awarded nearly $1.9 million in compensatory damages against Jostens, Wiggins, and Urnis to Herff Jones, and another $580,000 to Brent Gilbert of GradPro. Punitive damages in the amounts of $650,000, $25,000, and $10,000 were also assessed against Jostens, Wiggins, and Urnis, respectively.

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Indianapolis, Indiana – Attorney Richard Bell of McCordsville, Indiana filed suit in the Southern District of Indiana alleging that Cision US, Inc. (“Cision”), conducts business in the district, and infringed his rights in Cision-BlogPhoto2-300x135United States Copyright No. VA0001785115, the “Indianapolis Photo”. Bell is seeking actual and statutory damages, costs, attorneys’ fees, and any other relief as is just and proper.

Bell, who has filed numerous copyright infringement lawsuits over the Indianapolis Photo, claims Cision published the Indianapolis Photo on its website without his permission beginning in or around 2018. The Complaint asserts Plaintiff’s claim that Cision took or downloaded the Indianapolis Photo without his permission prior to publishing the photo on its website. The Complaint further alleges Cision falsely represented that it owned the rights to publish the Indianapolis Photo by adding a copyright notice to the bottom of each page of its website.

Per the Complaint, Cision has not agreed to be enjoined from using the Indianapolis Photo. Plaintiff states Cision refuses to pay for the unauthorized use of the Indianapolis Photo and that it has allowed third parties to access its website and the Indianapolis Photo. As such, Bell is seeking damages for copyright infringement and vicarious liability for each copy downloaded by a third-party user.

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HBrady-BlogPhoto-300x297Fort Wayne, Indiana – Former Attorney Holly Brady has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as judge in the Northern District of Indiana. Brady is only the second woman to serve as judge in the Northern District and the first judge to join the court in nine years. Brady will take the seat vacated in September 2017 by Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen.

Brady, a native Hoosier, received her undergraduate degree from Indiana University and went on to attend Valparaiso University School of Law. After graduating, Brady has worked in multiple Fort Wayne law firms in the fields of labor and employment law. Brady’s history of a strong federal practice made her a good candidate for the vacancy and she is expected to have a formal swearing-in ceremony in August.

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Kosciusko County, Indiana – Attorneys for Plaintiff, Rick C. Sasso, M.D. (“Dr. Sasso”) of Carmel, Indiana, originally filed suit in the Kosciusko County Superior Court in Indiana alleging that Defendants, Warsaw Orthopedic, Inc., Medtronic, PLC, and Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Inc., haveSassoBlogPhoto-266x300 denied him and his accounting firm access to their sales ledger per two separate agreements. Dr. Sasso is seeking an injunction ordering Defendants to provide full access to its sales ledger to determine royalties owed to Dr. Sasso under two separate agreements. As of April 12, 2019, Defendants filed a Notice of Removal to remove the case to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.

Per the complaint, Dr. Sasso is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in the treatment of the spine. Dr. Sasso claims the Defendants, together, are top manufacturers for spine implants. It is claimed Dr. Sasso entered into two separate agreements with Sofamor Danek Holding, Inc., which was later acquired by Warsaw Orthopedic through a merger. The first alleged agreement, is the 1999 Screw Delivery System Agreement on November 18, 1999 (the “1999 Agreement”). The second alleged agreement is the 2001 Vertex Agreement, entered into on July 26, 2001 (the “2001 Agreement”). Dr. Sasso claims that these agreements have clauses that enable him to “inspect, examine, audit, and copy [Defendants’] records” relating to the agreements once per calendar year.

In August 2013, Dr. Sasso filed a different suit against the Defendants for unpaid royalties under both the 1999 and 2001 Agreements. Dr. Sasso was granted royalties in the amount of $79,794,721.00 for the 1999 Agreement and $32,657,548.00 for the 2001 Agreement, which has been appealed by Defendants. According to the complaint, the 1999 Agreement requires the Defendants to continue paying royalties until the expiration of U.S. Patent No. 6,287,313 and U.S. Patent No. 6,562,046, on or about November 23, 2019. Dr. Sasso also claims the 2001 Agreement requires Defendants to pay royalties to him so long as “the Medical Device is covered by a valid claim of an issued patent arising out of the Intellectual Property Rights.”

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Overhauser Law Offices, the publisher of this site, assists with US and foreign patent searches, patent applications and assists with enforcing patents via infringement litigation and licensing.

The U.S. Patent Office issued the following 244 patent registrations to persons and businesses in Indiana in April 2019, based on applications filed by Indiana patent attorneys:

Patent No. Title
1 D0847440 Blocking member for a door assembly of an animal enclosure
2 D0847342 Spinal implant
3 D0847341 Spinal implant
4 D0847306 Faucet handle
5 10,277,344 System and method for facilitation of a geographically relevant radio station and transmission of related content

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The U.S. Trademark Office issued the following 192 trademark registrations to persons and businesses in Indiana in April 2019 based on applications filed by Indiana trademark attorneys:

Registration No.  Word Mark
5734107 MOVE WITH ME
5735891 12 FLAVOR GUMMI BEARS
5734081 GUARDIAN
5735876 FLOOD INSURANCE SOLUTIONS
5733986 GEORGE REMUS
5733985 ROSSVILLE UNION

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Indianapolis, Indiana – Attorney Richard Bell of McCordsville, Indiana filed suit in theBlogPhoto-300x169 Southern District of Indiana alleging that Marriott, LLC, who conducts business in the district, infringed his rights in United States Copyright No. VA0001785115, the “Indianapolis Photo”.  Bell is seeking actual and statutory damages, costs, attorneys’ fees, and any other relief as is just and proper.

Bell claims the Indianapolis Photo is an original work that was registered with the U.S. Copyright Office on August 4, 2011. He further claims that because of his use of the Indianapolis Photo to advertise his photography business, it can be identified by the public as being created by Bell. Since the registration of the Indianapolis Photo, Bell has filed many lawsuits for copyright infringement.

According to the complaint, Marriott used the Indianapolis Photo on its website to draw or attract prospective customers. Bell claims he discovered Marriott’s use of the Indianapolis Photo in March 2018 and that the photo was visible on Marriott’s website on April 6, 2018. Bell is seeking damages for copyright infringement including vicarious liability damages for each downloaded copy of the Indianapolis Photo from Marriott’s website by third-party users.

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Super8-BlogPhoto-2-202x300Fort Wayne, Indiana – Attorneys for Plaintiff, Super 8 Worldwide, Inc. (“Super 8”) of Parsippany, New Jersey filed suit in the Northern District of Indiana alleging that Defendants, Harvee Properties, LLC (“Harvee”) and Paresh Patel (“Patel”), both of Auburn, Indiana, infringed its rights in United States Trademark Registration Numbers 1602723 for the mark SUPER 8, 3610108 for the mark SUPER 8 & Design (b/w), 3610109 for the mark SUPER 8 & Design (Color), 1951982 for the mark SUPER 8 HOTEL & Plaque Design, and 1128057 for the mark SUPER 8 MOTEL & Design. Super 8 is seeking preliminary and permanent injunction, direct damages, indirect damages, consequential damages, special damages, costs, actual damages, punitive damages, pre-judgment interest, actual costs, and attorney’s fees.

The Complaint asserts that Super 8 is a widely known provider for guest lodging services and that it first used the SUPER 8 MOTEL mark in 1973. Super 8 claims that pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1065, all of the marks at issue in this case (the “Super 8 Marks”) have achieved incontestable status. Per the complaint, Super 8 franchises its guest lodging services and allows its franchisees to utilize the Super 8 Marks to promote its brand and allow consumers to identify the origin of its services.

Super 8 claims it entered into a franchise agreement on March 31, 2017 with Amrex Receivers, LLC (“Amrex”) for Amrex to operate a Super 8 facility for twenty years in Auburn, Indiana. The Complaint alleges that Amrex terminated the franchise agreement on December 4, 2017. On or about December 29, 2017, Super 8 claims it sent a letter acknowledging the termination and informing Amrex that it must immediately discontinue use of the Super 8 Marks and remove any items from the premises bearing any Super 8 mark within ten days of receiving the letter.

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Contact Information
Indiana Intellectual Property: IP Litigation, Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights
  • Seventh Circuit
  • Northern District of Indiana
  • Southern District of Indiana
Paul B. Overhauser
Overhauser Law Offices, LLC
Greenfield
740 W Green Meadows Dr #300
Greenfield, IN 46140
Phone: 317.467.9100
Fax: 866.283.8549
Indianapolis
101 W Ohio St #2000
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone: 317.891.1500
Fax: 866.283.8549
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