Articles Posted in Copyright Infringement

New Jersey – Plaintiff Christopher Sadowski is suing Defendant Restoration 1 By J&D, LLC, of New Palestine, Indiana, over violation of the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 501, for allegedly reproducing, distributing, and publicly displaying Sadowski’s intellectual property for its own commercial purposes.

Photographer-300x200According to the claim, Sadowski is an award-winning photojournalist with 19 years of experience in documenting ordinary life and the human condition through photography. His work has been commissioned in magazines and newspapers such as the New York Post, Daily Mail Online, Reader’s Digest, USA Today, New York Times, Fox News, CBS News, NBC News, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Los Angeles Times, Newsweek Magazine, and People Magazine.  The complaint states that while the Plaintiff does sell limited, one-time use licenses to customers, he always retains copyright ownership of the photographs.

The suit accuses Restoration 1, a property damage restoration company, of using Sadowski’s photograph of Christmas lights on the Restoration 1 website without the proper licensing or permission to do so.  The Plaintiff claims that the Defendant has never been licensed to use the photograph and upon learning of its unauthorized use, the Defendant has not been willing to negotiate a reasonable license for it. Furthermore, the complaint states that Restoration 1 displays a copyright disclaimer (“Copyright © 2017”) on the page of the website that contains the photo, allegedly asserting that Restoration 1 owns the rights to everything on the webpage, including the photo in question.

Hamilton County, Indiana– The Plaintiffs, DCG Indiana, Inc. d/b/a Dillon Construction Group, filed suit against Cardinal XLIII, LLC (Delaware); Motorsport Real Estate Ventures LLC (Delaware); Studio M Architecture and Planning, LLC (Indiana); Gradex, Inc. (Indiana); and Glenmark Construction Co. Inc. (Indiana) in part, for copyright infringement of works of original authorship.

Andretti-Dillon-300x164According to the complaint, in early 2022, Andretti Global hired the Plaintiff and the Defendants to design and construct a racing facility in Fishers, IN. The parties then entered into a Design-Build Contract, which included financial terms, budgets, building plans, completion dates, etc.  The Plaintiffs also claim that the contract granted Cardinal a limited, irrevocable, and nonexclusive license to use the drawings, specifications, calculations, etc. (Instruments of Service) created by DCG, while also maintaining that DCG was the author and owner of said Instruments of Service, and would, therefore, retain all common law, statutory and other reserved rights, including copyrights.  More importantly, the claim states that the contract specified that should Cardinal not substantially perform its obligations, including payment of any past-due fees to DCG, the copyright license granted to Cardinal would automatically terminate.  (Click to read the cited part of the Design-Build Contract.)

According to the Plaintiff, on March 10, 2023, Cardinal notified DCG that it would be terminating the Design-Build Contract.  At the time the Plaintiff claims Cardinal still owed them $1,011.462.21, which, according to the terms of the Design-Build Contract, meant the copyright license granted to Cardinal should have ceased.  However, the Plaintiff alleges that Cardinal continued to use DCG’s Instruments of Service after the illegal termination of the contract and even after receiving cease-and-desist letters from Plaintiff’s counsel.

CopyrightPhoto-1Portland, Indiana – Plaintiff Alexander Bayonne Stross (‘Stross”) has filed suit against Defendants, Lynn Boolman Auto Sales Limited Liability Company and CARSFORSALE.COM, INC. for Copyright Infringement, Removal of Copyright Management Information and Addition of False Copyright Management Information.

According to the Complaint, Stross was inspired by the growth and development of his hometown Austin, Texas to become a professional photographer. He centers his expertise on complicated architectural and landscape photography. Per the StrossStock website, Stross was nominated and accepted as a professional member of the American Society of Photographers in 2016. He received his B.S. in Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin and has since combined his love for photographic art and computer science by building an online system to help protect artists’ works on the internet.

Defendant, Lynn Boolman Auto Sales is a used car dealership located in Portland, Indiana created in 2013, per the Indiana Secretary of State. They tout to be a family owned local car business always looking to give the best deal.

Defendant, CARSFORSALE.COM, INC, founded over 20 years ago, is an online auto marketplace operating out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Per their website, their goal is to empower customers to find exactly what they need with a click of the button, because car shopping should be as fun as the drive. They serve over 100 million shoppers annually and work directly with over 22,500 dealerships nationwide.

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MaddenBlogPhoto-300x124Evansville, Indiana – The Plaintiff, MaddenCo, Inc.  (“MaddenCo”) filed suit against former employees, James Reed (“Reed”) and Dru Darby (“Darby”) along with their new employer HG Autotech LLC (“HG Autotech”) for Breach of Contract, Breach of Fiduciary Duties, Tortious Interference, Copyright Infringement, False Advertising, False Representations, False Designations of Origin, Reverse Passing Off and Unfair Competition.

Per Plaintiff’s website, MaddenCo is a privately held family business and has been for over 40 years. They develop and support integrated software systems for tire dealers and truck stop service centers. MaddenCo provides systems for retail, wholesale, commercial and retreading operations for independent tire dealers, and retail and commercial solutions for service centers for truck stops, with full integration to their own accounts payable and general ledger solutions. MaddenCo owns Copyright Registration Number TX0009171151 entitled “The Tire Dealer System” with an effective registration date of August 26, 2022.

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KilroysLogo-300x300Indianapolis, Indiana – Plaintiff, Elijah Schwartz (“Schwartz”) filed suit against his former Employer and Defendants, Kilroy’s North America LLC, Kilroy’s Sports, LLC, and Kilroy’s on Kirkwood, LLC (“Kilroy’s”) for Violation of the Wage Payment Act, Breach of Contract, Promissory Estoppel, Unjust Enrichment, Fraud, Declaratory Judgment of Copyright Ownership, and Copyright Infringement.

According to the Complaint, Schwartz began working for Kilroy’s as a server and bartender in August of 2021.  He later was offered the position of AV Intern where his duties included services related to Defendants’ social media accounts and digital presence, assistance with their relationship with Barstool Sports, promotion of events, the creation of marketing and advertising content, which included the production, filming, and editing of video and digital content for the Defendants.

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BMI-Logo-300x300Rockville, Indiana – Plaintiffs, Broadcast Music Inc. (“BMI”), Cotillion Music, Inc., Terry Stafford Music Co., House of Cash, Inc., Sony/ATV Songs LLC d/b/a Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, Round Hill Music LP d/b/a Round Hill Works, Tokeco Tunes, EMI Blackwood Music Inc., Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., Lucky Thumb Music, Noah’s Little Boat Music, Sea Gayle, Music LLC d/b/a New Songs of Sea Gayle, Eldorotto Music Publishing, Big Glass Hitties, Spirit Music Group Inc. d/b/a Spirit of Nashville One have allegedly contacted Thirty Six Saloon, LLC d/b/a Thirty Six Saloon and Mark Vanderheyden over 35 times since April 2019 to discuss their obligations under the Copyright Act without success. Continue reading

 2022-08-12-BlogPhoto-210x300Indianapolis, Indiana – Ifedoo Enigwe (“Enigwe”), of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania filed a complaint against Defendants, Amazon.com, Inc, and Author Solutions Inc. Delaware, A/K/A Authorhouse for copyright infringement and counterfeiting of his work Mixed Blessings. 

According to the Complaint, Enigwe and the Defendants entered into a Settlement Agreement in or around January 2006 that “we [Authorhouse] will maintain the ‘live’ state of your book, Mixed Blessings, for one more year (from the date of acceptance) and then turn over the electronic version to you.” Enigwe alleges that Defendant, Amazon.com, Inc. printed and sold copies of Mixed Blessings on January 18, 2020 and February 2021 from its online sales platform.

Therefore, Plaintiff is seeking compensatory damages for Copyright Infringement in violation of 17 U.S.C. § 501 et seq. and Counterfeiting.

BlogPhotoMishawaka, Indiana – The Evolutionary Level Above Human, Inc. d/b/a The Telah Foundation (the “Foundation”) own the intellectual property rights for the following (hereinafter “The Works”):

              • Audio Works The audiotape library of Heaven’s Gate by Ti and Do (Certificate Number SRu000298530)
              • Video Work Beyond human- -the last call (Certificate Number PA000867224)
              • Visual Work The CBE: (Celestial Being Entity) (Certificate Number VA000877834)
              • Literary Work How and when “Heaven’s gate” (the door to the physical kingdom level above human) may be entered: an anthology of our materials (Certificate Number TXu000817732); and
              • Federal Trademarks:
                1. HEAVEN’S  GATE Registration No. 3,824,482
                2. HEAVEN’S GATE  Registration No. 3,816,596
                3. tradmark        Registration No. 5,148,959

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Otisco, IndianaDesign Tascono, Inc. the Plaintiff claims to have numerous copyright registrations for its unique statue designs, 5 of which are at issue in this case (“Tascono Works”).

According to the Complaint, Design Tascono is the owner of numerous copyrights for various decorative pieces, including wall sculptures. Design Tascono sells these pieces through various means, including its website, catalog, previously through SkyMall magazine, as well as through various authorized on-line retailers and through its network of North American brick-and-mortar distributors and retailers.

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Guilford, Indiana – Plaintiff Tara Mapes is a well-known photographer specializing in fashion and fine art photography.  She also sells digital backgrounds for photographers through an Etsy store called Enchanted Eye Creations by Tara Mapes. The limitations on the license under which she sells the digital backgrounds on her Etsy store is listed in numerous locations.

Mapes created the picture “Santa with Magic Snow Globe” and applied for a Copyright Registration with the United States Copyright Office.  She was granted registration on December 17, 2018.

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