Maryland Intellectual Property Lawyer & Attorney : Brian Wm. Higgins : Serving Baltimore, Columbia, Frederick

     In 2007, the major music recording companies, led by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), filed more copyright lawsuits in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland than any other group or individual. RIAA accounted for 16 of the 30 copyright lawsuits filed last year (53%). In 2006, RIAA accounted for an estimated 22 of 54 copyright lawsuits (41%). All of the RIAA lawsuits involved individual defendants accused of illegally downloading or sharing copyrighted music. The 30 copyright lawsuits involved a total of 168 plaintiffs (64 unique entities/individuals). Of those 168 plaintiffs, 85 were RIAA members, including the following:

• Sony BMG Music Entertainment (plaintiff in all 16 of the RIAA lawsuits);
• UMG Recordings (plaintiff in 14 of the RIAA lawsuits)
• Arista Records (plaintiff in 12 lawsuits)
• BMG Music (12 lawsuits)
• Virgin Records America (9)
• Capitol Records (9)
• Warner Brothers Records (8)
• Interscope Records (8)

     Twelve U.S. District Court Judges presided over the 30 copyright lawsuits in 2007: Bennett (3), Blake (2), Chasanow (1), Cullinane (1), Davis (4), Dorr (1), Garbis (2), Legg (2), Messitte (6), Quarles (2), Titus (3), and Williams (3). All 6 of Judge Messitte's cases involved RIAA lawsuits (in 2006, Judge Messitte presided over an estimated 21 of the 22 RIAA lawsuits).

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     Last week, there was one IP-related case filed in the the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland (source: Justia), this one captioned Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America v. The Wilder Spice Company, No. 1:2007cv03122 (D. Md. 2007) (filed Nov. 21, 2007).

     Plaintiff Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America is a New York not-for-profit corporation with its principal place of business in New York City. The Orthodox Union provides kosher product certifications for products prepared according to special Jewish dietary laws. On its website, Orthodox Union states that the word kosher means "proper or acceptable," and the term originates from "kosher laws [that] have their origin in the Bible, and are detailed in the Talmud and the other codes of Jewish traditions. They have been applied through the centuries to ever-changing situations, and these rulings, both ancient and modern, govern OU Kosher certification." The Orthodox Union is the alleged owner of the OU mark, which has reportedly been used in commerce since 1925 on food-related products as an indicator that such products have been certified as kosher.

     Defendant Wilder Spice Company is a Baltimore, Maryland-based company that, according to court papers, sells spice products in the U.S. under branded and private labels through retail, foodservice, and industrial channels. Orthodox Union alleges that Wilder forged a Letter of Certification that falsely represented that the Orthodox Union had certified Wilder products as kosher, and that several of Wilder's products have been sold bearing the OU mark. It is claiming federal and state trademark infringement under the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. § 1114(1)), false designation of origin (15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)), dilution of its allegedly famous mark (11 U.S.C. § 1125(c)), and common law unfair competition and trademark infringement. Orthodox Union is seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction, an accounting, and monetary damages.

     David Butler and Jason Scherr of Bingham McCutchen LLP (Washington, DC) filed the complaint on behalf of Orthodox Union.

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