Indiana Intellectual Property Law News

October 9, 2023

Joe Hand Promotions Sues Shift Restaurant and Bar for Cable and Satellite Piracy

Feasterville, Pennsylvania – Plaintiff Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. is suing Lawrenceburg, Indiana Defendants Shift Restaurant and Bar, Matt Euson, and Nicholas Roberts for allegedly committing “Cable Piracy” and “Satellite Piracy” as is defined in the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. § 553 and U.S.C. § 605).

According to the complaint, Joe Hand Promotions is a company specializing in the licensing and distribution of premier sporting events to commercial establishments. Joe Hand states that it holds exclusive licensing rights to many televised sporting events, including the Ultimate Fighting Championships®. Since obtaining the rights to the Ultimate Fighting Championships in 2001, the Plaintiff claims they have entered into agreements with various U.S. restaurants, bars, lounges, clubhouses, etc., who have purchased the pay-per-view rights to commercially broadcast the Championships and other similar sporting events to their patrons.

On January 18, 2020 and again on August 15, 2020, two different Ultimate Fighting Championship fights were scheduled to be broadcast on pay-per-view television (Ultimate Fighting Championship® 246: Conor McGregor vs. Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Ultimate Fighting Championship® 252: Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier). The Plaintiff alleges that on both nights, the Defendants chose to circumvent the Plaintiff’s licensing rights and commercially broadcast the fights at Shift Restaurant without purchasing permission to do so. The Plaintiff claims the Defendants pirated the programming and infringed upon their right as the rightful owner of the distribution license.

October 6, 2023

Nickels and Dimes Goes Full Tilt on Noah’s Arcade in Trademark Infringement Suit

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Celina, Texas – Plaintiff, Nickels and Dimes Incorporated is suing LaPorte, Indiana company, Noah’s Arcade, LLC d/b/a Full Tilt, for infringement of its federally registered trademark TILT, in association with arcade, amusement, and entertainment services, under Section 32(1) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1114(1).

According to the complaint, Plaintiff Nickels and Dimes opened their first TILT arcade in 1977, inside the Six Flags Mall, in Arlington, TX, and has since owned and operated 200 TILT arcades in the U.S. Nickels and Dimes states that it then began using the Trademark TILT STUDIO in 2010, and the TILTED 10 Trademark in 2021, in association with arcade games and indoor entertainment.

The Defendant, Noah’s Arcade, allegedly opened their arcade in 2022 under the mark FULL TILT and has been accused of using the mark in their marketing and advertising, to which the Plaintiff claims infringement of their trademarks TILT, TILT STUDIO, and TILTED 10. The Plaintiff argues that the products sold under Noah’s FULL TILT mark are identical or highly similar to those that Nickels and Dimes sell under their trademarks. In addition, the Plaintiff contends that Noah’s Domain Name is similar to Plaintiff’s TILT STUDIO and TILTED 10 marks, which could potentially cause confusion among the customer base who may assume an affiliation between the two entities.

October 2, 2023

Teva Pharmaceutical’s Patent Infringement Verdict Against Eli Lilly Overturned

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Massachusetts – Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Eli Lilly in a dispute with Teva Pharmaceuticals, overturning a $176.5 million jury verdict that had previously been awarded to Teva in a patent infringement suit regarding the two companies’ development of drugs with antibodies capable of treating headache disorders associated with calcitonin gene-related peptide (“CGRP”).

According to the original complaint, Teva’s drug (Ajovy) and Lilly’s drug (Emgality) were similar in the ways in which they work, and they were both approved by the FDA only 13 days apart in September 2018. However, Court documents show that Lilly contended that the two antibodies used in the drugs were different and, therefore, no infringement existed.

After a thorough examination of the case, Judge Burroughs agreed that the two drugs were distinct and that Teva’s patents were too expansive. Judge Burroughs stated in her ruling that, “Even viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, asserted claims are too broad.” She subsequently overturned the original jury verdict awarded to Teva writing in her ruling that “The Court does not reach this decision nor overturn a jury verdict lightly.”

September 29, 2023

Christopher Sadowski Claims Copyright Infringement for Award-Winning Photography

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

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.

According 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.

September 22, 2023

Dillon Construction Group Files Copyright Infringement Suit Against Andretti Global Construction Team

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

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.

According 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.

September 19, 2023

Agricultural Machinery Manufacturing Company (Par-Kan) Sued for Alleged Patent Infringement

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

Kalida, Ohio – The Plaintiff, UNVERFERTH MFG. CO., INC., filed suit against Silver Lake, Indiana company, PAR-KAN CO., LLC for patent infringement under U.S. Patent Laws, 35 U.S.C. §§ 271, 281, 283, 284, and 285.

According to the complaint, Unverferth manufactures, uses, and sells seed tender products protected by legally issued U.S. Patent No. 8,967,940 (“the ’940 patent”) and U.S. Patent No. 9,745,123 (“the ’123 patent”). In accordance with statutory marking provision of 35U.S.C. § 287(a), Unverferth has affixed serial numbers to its products to identify the patents used in those products.

The Plaintiff claims that Par-Kan had knowledge of the ‘940 and ‘123 patents because these patents are continuations of U.S. Patent No. 8,221,047, which Unverferth sued Par-Kan over in a similar infringement case in 2013 and had received subpoenas and a cease-and-desist letter, identifying the patents by numbers. It is alleged that the Defendant continues to manufacture, use, and sell products that infringe on the claims of the ‘940 and ‘123 patents, which constitutes willful infringement.

September 15, 2023

Patent Office Issued 204 Patents to Indiana Entities in July 2023

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

The U.S. Patent Office issued the following 204 patents to persons and businesses in Indiana in July 2023:

PATENT NUMBER	PATENT TITLE
US 11708610 B2	Genetic polymorphisms associated with cardiovascular disorders and drug response, methods of detection and uses thereof
US 11708582 B2	Nucleotide sequences and polypeptides encoded thereby useful for modifying plant characteristics
US 11707391 B2	Hospital bed having rounding checklist
US 11710149 B2	System and method for activity summary and product promotion
US RE49586 E	Methods and techniques for spinal surgery

September 11, 2023

174 Trademark Registrations Issued to Indiana Companies in August 2023

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

The U.S. Trademark Office issued the following 174 trademark registrations to persons and businesses in Indiana in August 2023 based on applications filed by Indiana trademark attorneys:

Reg. Number	Word Mark
7140222	MINLEARN
7151067	CHOCORITE
7151059	HIGHWAY 61
7151041	ZOTTA
7151040	JALAPERS

August 11, 2023

Patent Office Issued 211 Patents to Indiana Entities in June 2023

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

The U.S. Patent Office issued the following 211 patents to persons and businesses in Indiana in June 2023:

Patent Number		Patent Title
US 11684529 B2		Mattress cover sensor method
US 11687866 B2		Use of analytics methods for personalized guidance
US 11684479 B2		Tibial trial system for a knee prosthesis and method
US 11686446 B2		Thin aspect lighting system with cutoff
US 11684194 B2		Modular food processing and preparation device
US 11684291 B2		Monitoring of patient supports

August 4, 2023

176 Trademark Registrations Issued to Indiana Companies in July 2023

By Overhauser Law Offices, LLC

The U.S. Trademark Office issued the following 176 trademark registrations to persons and businesses in Indiana in July 2023 based on applications filed by Indiana trademark attorneys:

Reg. Number	Word Mark
7121761	CUSHIONRITE
7121751	LEGENDARY BRANDS SOCIETY
7121557	INSTAGLIDE
7121418	EST 2021 BENT WRENCH BBQ
7121163	PEGGY