Fort Wayne, Indiana – Magistrate Judge Roger Cosbey of the Northern District of Indiana denied the motion for transfer filed by patent attorneys for Anchor Packaging, Inc. of St. Louis, Missouri (“Anchor”). Anchor sought a transfer of the declaratory judgment action filed by Mullinix Packages, Inc. of Fort Wayne, Indiana…
Articles Posted in Civil Procedure
Indiana Copyright Law: Court Orders Severance of Misjoined Copyright Infringement Complaint
Indianapolis, Indiana – Magistrate Judge Denise K. LaRue, writing for the Southern District of Indiana, directed the Clerk of the Court to sever all but one defendant from the copyright infringement complaint of Richard Bell, an Indiana copyright attorney. Bell was also ordered by the court to pay separate filing…
Indiana Trademark Law: Seventh Circuit Holds Indiana Court Lacked Personal Jurisdiction Over RAP4
Chicago, Illinois – Indiana trademark attorney Paul B. Overhauser, on behalf of K.T. Tran and Real Action Paintball, Inc., a California corporation (collectively “RAP4”), argued before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit that the trademark infringement suit brought in the Northern District of Indiana by Advanced…
Dyer’s General Store May Not Proceed Pro Se, Ordered to Retain Counsel
Terre Haute, Indiana – Indiana trademark litigation against a corporate entity requires the participation of an attorney for the defense to avoid default. In 2013, a trademark lawyer for Coach, Inc. of New York, New York and Coach Services, Inc. of Jacksonville, Florida (collectively “Coach”) sued for trademark infringement in…
Divided Federal Circuit Rules En Banc to Retain Cybor Rule of De Novo Review for Claim Construction
Washington, D.C. – The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit concluded in a six-to-four decision that the rule in Cybor – that claim construction is an issue of law subject to de novo review on appeal – will be retained under the principles of stare decisis. In…
Supreme Court Reverses Federal Circuit on Burden of Proof in Patent Infringement Litigation Brought Under the Declaratory Judgment Act
Washington, D.C. – An issue in the patent infringement dispute between medical-device giant Medtronic, Inc. and Mirowski Family Ventures, LLC (“Mirowski”) was heard by the United States Supreme Court. In question was the placement of the burden of proof in patent infringement litigation that seeks a declaratory judgment. The Supreme…
Southern District of Indiana to Begin Pilot Program
Indianapolis, Indiana – The Southern District of Indiana is beginning a pilot program that will allow active hyperlinks to be included within e-filed and court-issued documents. Hyperlinks will allow immediate access by the reader to the referenced materials, i.e., case management and electronic court filing system (“CM/ECF”) filings, case and…
Fourth Circuit Affirms Districts Court’s Injunction and Admission of Evidence in False Advertising Case
Richmond, Virginia – PBM Products, LLC (“PBM”) sued Mead Johnson & Company, LLC (“Mead Johnson”) alleging false advertising in violation of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)(1)(A) and (B), and commercial disparagement. Mead Johnson filed counterclaims against PBM. The district court dismissed the counterclaims and entered an injunction against…
Indiana Tax Court Shields Orbitz from Disclosure of Trade Secrets
Indianapolis, Indiana – In the matter of Orbitz, LLC v. Indiana Department of State Revenue, Orbitz, LLC of Chicago, Illinois was heard by the Indiana Tax Court on its request to prohibit public access to information in the court record. The court granted the request, holding the trade secrets contained…
Supreme Court’s Holding in Gunn Requires Remand of Suit Alleging Malpractice in Patent Law
Indianapolis, Indiana – Citing the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Gunn v. Minton, the Southern District of Indiana has remanded to the Marion Superior Court the legal malpractice lawsuit filed by the Indiana patent lawyer for Miller Veneers, Inc. The Defendants in the case are Indiana patent attorney Clifford…