 IPC recently obtained a favorable settlement on behalf of client Walter Williams of Dreamsite Productions, the creator and owner of the fictional character Mr. Bill in a recently filed federal lawsuit. The lawsuit, led by IPC attorney Richard Sahuc, asserted claims for copyright and trademark infringement against The Golf Channel and its parent, NBC Universal, based upon an unauthorized appearance made by Mr. Bill in an instructional video produced by The Golf Channel in which Mr. Bill’s head predictably doubled as a golf ball.
We're not the only ones who recognized the significance of the lawsuit. Mr. Bill's plight made local news in Walter William's hometown of New Orleans on WDSU, as well as national news on MSN.com. Intellectual property rights surrounding fictional characters can be complex. IPC has significant experience with intellectual property rights pertaining to fictional characters, having handled litigation involving Mr. Bill, the famous literary and film hero Zorro, and others. If you have questions about intellectual property rights involving fictional characters our professionals can help. Contact us at (504) 322-7166.  Escobar Inc., a general holding company organized to monetize the intellectual property rights related to Pablo Escobar and his family, has retained IPC to file a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada against its former employee and chief operating officer, Daniel Reitberg.
Pablo Escobar, "The King of Cocaine," was a Columbian drug lord who founded and led the Medellin Cartel, which monopolized the cocaine trade into the US in the 1980s and 1990s. Escobar is known to be the wealthiest criminal in history, having amassed an estimated net worth of $30 billion by the time of his death in 1993. Today, Escobar Inc. utilizes a YouTube channel to promote and sell various products to its followers and subscribers. As stated in the Complaint, Escobar Inc. alleges that Reitberg closed corporate bank accounts and deliberately hijacked the company’s YouTube account before abandoning his position with the company. The suit further states that after purposefully changing the designated password, preventing Escobar Inc. from accessing its own YouTube Channel, Reitberg is now using this information as ransom and as a means to extort significant sums of money from the holding company. As a result of Reitberg’s conduct, IPC Attorneys, Stephen Kepper and Adriano Pacifici, filed suit on behalf of Escobar Inc. against its former employee, seeking damages and injunctive relief under the Defend Trade Secrets Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and other state law claims. If you have questions about intellectual property rights, our team of professionals are here to help. Give us a call at 504-322-7166.  Intellectual Property Consulting, LLC is pleased to announce the addition of Adam V. Vickers to the firm. Adam joins IPC with over 13 years of legal practice experience, helping his clients obtain, enforce and defend a broad array of intellectual property rights. He also has extensive experience in licensing, transaction and corporate matters.
Adam is a Registered Patent Attorney with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and represents global companies, small businesses and individuals in patent and trademark prosecution matters, post-grant proceedings and related litigation across the United States. Adam's portfolio includes the mechanical arts, software and computer arts and electronic arts. In addition, he counsels his clients regarding service agreements, licensing and financing due diligence. Adam graduated from Tulane University Law School in 2006, where he served as the Senior Articles Editor of the Tulane Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property. During law school, Adam was a judicial extern to the Honorable T. Michael Putnam in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, and to the Honorable Pascal F. Calogero, Former Chief Justice of the Louisiana State Supreme Court. Adam holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Auburn University, where his peers voted him Most Outstanding Graduate. Before law school, Adam was an engineer for ExxonMobil Corp. The addition of Adam to the firm demonstrates IPC's ongoing commitment to measured and sustainable growth. “We are thrilled to include Adam on our roster of talented attorneys,” says managing director, Greg Latham. “He is a talented lawyer who will strengthen our team and provide valuable insight to our clients.” IPC is an industry leader in intellectual property consulting and litigation, as evidenced by the recognition of Greg Latham and Ben Meroney in the 26th edition of The Best Lawyers in America for Trademark Law and Copyright Law, respectively. As the largest intellectual property boutique law firm along the Gulf Coast, IPC offers big firm experience with small firm service.  IPC Patent Attorney, Stephen Kepper, successfully assisted Edge-Works Manufacturing Company in obtaining a patent (US Pat. No. 10,624,442) covering a unique adjustable holder that can accommodate and securely retain flashlights (and other similar objects) of variable sizes.
An IPC client since 2013, Edge-Works is located in Burgaw, NC and is part of the tactical gear and tactical equipment industry. Edge-Works uses high-tech CAD/CAM processes to develop highly efficient and unique methods of manufacturing. These methods yield a high level of precision and repeatability in production with unique, patent pending features. If you have questions about patents, contact our professionals at (504) 322-7166 for more information on how IPC can help.  IPC recently represented its client, Edge-Works Manufacturing Company, in three separate lawsuits against all against one of its competitors, HSG, LLC. All of the lawsuits were filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina and dealt with issues of breach of contract, federal false advertising claims, and patent infringement arising out of the manufacture and sale of ammunition magazine carriers.
In the breach of contract suit, HSG alleged Edge-Works breached a prior settlement agreement by selling its unique softshell scorpion carriers. That case was resolved on summary judgment and IPC was able to obtain an attorneys’ fee award of $56,876 for Edge-Works. In the false advertising suit, HSG alleged that Edge-Works falsely advertised the material used for its Softshell Scorpion carrier. IPC successfully had those claims dismissed at the earliest stages of litigation; however, HSG appealed that ruling to the Fourth Circuit. As to the patent infringement lawsuit, Edge-Works claimed HSG’s Polymer Taco products, Kydex Handcuff Taco and Kydex Tourniquet Taco infringed Edge-Works’ patents bearing U.S. Pat. No. 9,795,210 and 9,668,568, covering variable compression magazine carriers. The parties recently reached a global settlement resolving all of these disputes. Although the specific terms of the settlement are confidential, IPC was pleased that it could assist Edge-Works in bringing a global resolution to all these disputes that Edge-Works found to be favorable. IPC attorneys, Stephen Kepper and Greg Latham, were lead counsel for Edge-Works in all these matters. IPC has served as Edge-Works’ counsel for over seven years, and during that time, has helped Edge-Works develop, defend, and monetize a portfolio of issued patents and federally registered trademarks. If you have questions about intellectual property rights, including patent or trademark related issues, contact us at (504) 322-7166 for more information on how our professionals can help.  IPC client NOLA Living Realty recently settled its federal trademark infringement lawsuit against Uptown NOLA Living. NOLA Living Realty filed the lawsuit alleging that Uptown had adopted a confusingly similar business name in bad faith in order to trade-off of the goodwill and reputation of NOLA Living Realty.
The matter was set for a federal jury trial, but a settlement was reached prior to trial. The terms of the settlement require Uptown to change its business name and to pay a significant cash payment to NOLA Living Realty for damages. IPC was pleased to have the opportunity to represent NOLA Living Realty, one of the fastest growing real estate brokerages serving the greater New Orleans area. If you have questions about trademark issues, contact our professionals at 504-322-7166.  The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision today that has serious implications for trademark brand owners, as well as those accused of trademark infringement. In the case of Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil Group, Inc., fka Fossil, Inc., et. al., the Supreme Court held that a plaintiff in a trademark infringement suit is not required to show that a defendant willfully infringed the plaintiff’s trademark as a precondition to a profits award. This decision changes the law in several federal Circuits and drastically raises the stakes in any suit involving claims of trademark infringement.
If you have questions about intellectual property rights or trademark issues, contact our IPC professionals at (504) 322-7166 for more information on how we can help. |
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