District of Massachusetts IP Blog

New BitTorrent Case Filed

A bunch of California adult film production companies have sued a number of anonymous defendants by their IP addresses for copyright infringement stemming from purported unauthorized BitTorrent downloads of pornographic films.  These cases are gaining in popularity in this district after being widely tried in other districts across the country.  All the cases below have the same plaintiff’s counsel.

Prosthetic Limb Manufacturer Sued

iWalk (Bedford, MA) and MIT have sued Össuer HF (Reykjavik, Iceland) and its U.S. affiliate for infringement of Patent No. 5,650,704 directed to an elastic actuator.  Össuer’s prosthetic knee (called the POWER KNEE) is specifically accused.

iWalk, Inc. v. Össuer HF, 12-10796-NMG (D. Mass. May 3, 2012)

Patents Asserted Against Chinese Plasma Cutting Systems

Hypertherm, Inc. (Hanover, NH) has sued Shenzen River Trading Co., Ltd. (Guangzhou, China) for infringement of Patent Nos. 8,115,136, 7,989,727 and 6,207,923 directed to plasma cutting systems.

Hypertherm, Inc. v. Shenzen River Trading Co., Ltd., 12-10798-GAO (D. Mass. May 3, 2012)

Federal Case Initiated to Prevent Domain Transfer

Rare Names, Inc. (Waltham, MA) has sued Foster, Andrew & Co. (Bolingbrook, IL) for a declaration that a domain name registered by the plaintiffs, <faci.com>, does not violate defendant’s rights.  Defendant was successful in a UDRP action to have the domain transferred.  Plaintiffs initiated this action to prevent the transfer. 

Rare Names, Inc. v. Foster, Andrew & Co., 12-10800-DJC (D. Mass. May 3, 2012)

Health Information Name Spat Hits the Courts

American HealthTech, Inc. (Ridgeland, MS) has sued individuals in Massachusetts and New Hampshire for infringement of the trademark AMERICAN HEALTHTECH for computer programs.  Defendants operate an information technology business using the <healthtechlink.com> domain and the mark HealthTech. 

American HealthTech, Inc. v. Gurganious, 12-10716-RWZ (D. Mass. Apr. 23, 2012)

MetroWest Computer Store Suffers Microsoft’s Wrath

Microsoft Corp. (Redmond, WA) has sued PCExchange.net, Inc. (Framingham, MA) and its owner for copyright and trademark infringement.  The complaint alleges that the defendants have sold and installed unauthorized copies of Microsoft’s software. 

Microsoft Corp. v. PCExchange.net, Inc., 12-10685-RWZ (Apr. 18, 2012)

Excellence of Phone Cards Disputed

Nobelcom, LLC (Carlsbad, CA) has sued Millenium Tele Card, LLC (Clifton, NJ) for trademark infringement.  Plaintiff sells prepaid phone cards using the mark XCELENTE.  Defendant sells phone cards with the mark EXCELLENT. 

Nobelcom, LLC v. Millenium Tele Card, LLC, 12-10688-NMG (D. Mass. Apr. 18, 2012)

Toy Ripoffs Lead to Suit

An individual sculptor and inventor residing in New York City has sued Quill Corp. (Spartanburg, SC) for copyright, trademark, and trade dress infringement stemming from defendants alleged sales of counterfeit versions of plaintiff’s FLIGHT RING toy. 

Hoberman v. Quill Corp., 12-10672-RWZ (D. Mass. Apr. 13, 2012)

Analog Patent Case Transferred to D. Mass.

A patent case originally filed in Delaware by Signal Tech, LLC (Delaware) against Analog Devices, Inc. (Norwood, MA) in November, 2011 was transferred to D. Mass. in April, 2012.  The case alleges that Analog infringes Patent No. 6,480,064 directed to a low voltage switchable GM cell. 

Signal Tech, LLC v. Analog Devices, Inc., 12-10669-WGY (D. Mass. Nov. 2, 2011)

Former Environmental Executive Sued

BGI, Inc. (Waltham, MA) sued its former president for misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of fiduciary duty, and other counts related to the president’s alleged taking BGI’s secrets to his own company. 

BGI, Inc. v. Merrifield, 12-10658-RWZ (D. Mass. Apr. 12, 2012)