District of Massachusetts IP Blog

Immitation Is The Sincerest Form of…BRAINS!

Wimpy Kid, Inc. (Plainville, MA) has sued Antarctic Press, Inc. (San Antonio, TX) for trademark infringement and related claims.  Plaintiff publishes the widely successful Diary of A Wimpy Kid series.  Defendant published a book, Diary of A Zombie Kid, with a book cover design closely mirroring the plaintiff’s series: 

While one can certainly acknowledge the similarities, this statement from the complaint seems like an overstatement:  

Defendant’s infringing works are substantially similar to those of Plaintiff’s series and are obviously intended to confuse the public into believing that Defendant’s books are additions to such series.

I'm not sure anyone is going to think these are part of the same series.  Unless the Wimpy Kid books involve more brain eating than I am aware of. 

Wimpy Kid, Inc. v. Antarctic Press, Inc., 11-12265-RGS (D. Mass. Dec. 20, 2011)

IT Service Provider Worried About Mark

Business Systems Consultants, Inc. (Beverly, MA) has sued Trend Micro Incorporated (Cupertino, CA) and Dell, Inc.  (Round Rock, TX) for infringement of plaintiff’s WORRY-FREE IT trademark and related claims.  Plaintiff’s mark is registered for computer hardware, servers, and support services.  The defendants have partnered to offer computer services under the mark WORRY FREE. 

Business Systems Consultants, Inc. v. Trend Micro Incorporated, 11-12287-RGS (D. Mass. Dec. 22, 2011)

Stylus Bought, Copied, And Sued

Genesis Strategies, Inc. (Northborough, MA) has sued Pitney Bowes, Inc. (Stanford, CT) for trade dress infringement and related claims stemming from a similar stylus holder design sold by both companies.  The complaint alleges that Pitney Bowes bought thousands of the stylus holders from the plaintiff with a statement that more orders were coming.  More orders never came, and plaintiff discovered that Pitney Bowes had simply farmed out the stylus design to an overseas manufacturer/importer who purportedly admitted copying the design.  Left without patent protection for its product, the plaintiff resorts to trade dress claims, which are pretty thin given the product configuration nature of the asserted design and some skepticism regarding the design’s indication of source. 

Genesis Strategies, Inc. v. Pitney Bowes, Inc., 11-12270-TSH (D. Mass. Dec. 20, 2011)

Photographer Sues Citysearch

In a pro-se complaint, a Boston resident accuses the operator of CitySearch of copyright infringement related to unauthorized use of plaintiff’s photograph on multiple websites.  A similar complaint was filed by the same photographer against a local real estate website. 

Rogers v. Citygrid Media, LLC, 11-12243-NMG (D. Mass. Dec. 16, 2011)

Boarding Helmet Designs Accused

Bern Unlimited, Inc. (Kingston, MA) has sued The Burton Corp. (Burlington, VT), Vans, Inc. (Cypress, CA), and Easton-Bell, Sports, Inc. (Van Nuys, CA) for infringement of design patent D572,865 related to an ornamental helmet.  Easton-Bell is also accused of infringement of design patent D572,880 related to a summer liner. 

         

D572,865                                            D572,880

Bern Unlimited, Inc. v. Vans, Inc., 11-12278-DJC (D. Mass. Dec. 20, 2011)

Bern Unlimited, Inc. v. The Burton Corp., 11-12280-JLT (D. Mass. Dec. 20, 2011)

Bern Unlimited, Inc. v. Easton-Bell, Sports, Inc., 11-12281-DPW (D. Mass. Dec. 20, 2011)

Stop Sign On Blue Rectangles

Keds, LLC (Lexington, MA) and its licensor have sued several competitors for trademark infringement relating to a blue rectangle placed at the heel of footwear.  Because the mark has been registered since 1959, Keds even throws in a cite to a 1989 First Circuit case calling the mark strong and incontestable.  So there. 

Keds, LLC v. Four Star Distribution, 11-12217-RWZ (D. Mass. Dec. 14, 2011)

Keds, LLC v. One-Distribution Company, LLC, 11-12219-RWZ (D. Mass. Dec. 14, 2011)

Keds, LLC v. Vans, Inc., 11-12222-RWZ (D. Mass. Dec. 14, 2011)

Breast Cancer Drug Makers Sued

Cephalon, Inc. (Frazer, PA) has sued Celgen Corp. (Summit, NJ) and others for infringement of Patent No. RE40,493 directed to porous paclitaxel matrices.  Defendants’ Abraxane drug is specifically accused of infringing.  Cephalon’s licensor is also named as a plaintiff. 

Cephalon, Inc. v. Celgene Corp., 11-12226-GAO (D. Mass. Dec. 14, 2011)

Comcast Points the Finger

Adult film distributor West Coast Productions, Inc. (an unnamed city in CA) has sued a number of individuals for copyright infringement related to unauthorized movie downloading using BitTorrent.  The individuals were identified through IP addresses which were then linked to accounts through Comcast.  I sense some teenagers are in serious trouble. 

West Coast Productions, Inc. v. Craven, 12-10215-WGY (D. Mass. Feb. 3, 2012)

West Coast Productions, Inc. v. Duffany, 12-10218-WGY (D. Mass. Feb. 3, 2012)

West Coast Productions, Inc. v. Eldredge, 12-10221-WGY (D. Mass. Feb. 3, 2012)

West Coast Productions, Inc. v. McDonagh, 12-10222-WGY (D. Mass. Feb. 3, 2012)

West Coast Productions, Inc. v. Nadeau, 12-10223-WGY (D. Mass. Feb. 3, 2012)

Euro-Pro Slices At CVS

Euro-Pro Operating LLC (Newton, MA) has sued CVS Caremark Corp. (Woonsocket, RI) and related CVS entities for patent, design patent, and trade dress infringement relating to products similar to Euro-Pro’s Ninja Master Prep blender.  Patent Nos. 7,677,485 and D623,890 are asserted.  CVS’ PROlectrix 2-in-1 Blender is accused. 

Euro-Pro Operating LLC v. CVS Caremark Corp., 11-12221-JCB (D. Mass. Dec. 14, 2011)

BET Sued By Spurned Photog

A Boston photographer is suing Black Entertainment Television, LLC (Washington, DC) for copyright infringement relating to use of photographs which the complaint alleges BET never paid for. 

Friedman v. Black Entertainment Television, LLC, 11-12208-PBS (D. Mass. Dec. 13, 2011)