Maryland IP Litigation Cases for the Week of October 15, 2007
Below is a summary of the IP-related cases filed in the the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland during the week beginning October 11, 2007 (source: Justia). This time, two patent cases and a trademark case make up the week's docket:
- American Silver LLC v. General Resonance LLC, No. 07 Civ 02807, filed Oct. 15, 2007
Plaintiffs are American Silver LLC and its subsidiary American Biotech Labs LLC, both Utah companies. ABL owns U.S. Patent No. 7,135,195 and several other patents directed to silver products used in the life sciences field.
Defendant General Resonance LLC is a Nevada company with its corporate headquarters located in Havre de Grace, MD. Defendants Juliana Brooks and Mark Mortenson are reportedly residents of Maryland. Ms. Brooks is allegedly the Senior Managing Director of General Resonance. Mr. Mortenson is allegedly a lawyer licensed to practice in Virginia and registered to practice before the PTO. According to court papers, Mr. Mortenson acts as General Resonance's general counsel.
Plaintiffs seek to quiet title to the ownership interests of an invention and related patent applications, including PCT/US05/047699. Other counts in the complaint include fraud, misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud by concealment, constructive fraud, breach of contract, conversion, misappropriation of scientific ideas, negligent misrepresentation, tortious interference, legal malpractice, and civil conspiracy.
George Ritchie of Venable filed the complaint on behalf of the plaintiffs.
- Raymond Geddes & Company, Inc. v. J. Rousek Toy Co. Inc.,No. 07 Civ 02818, filed Oct. 16, 2007
On October 11th, Raymond Geddes & Co., Inc. a Maryland company with its headquarters in Baltimore, MD, sued Los Angeles, CA-based Nakajima USA, Inc. for alleged infringement of its U.S. Patent No. 6,158,871, which is directed to an "Illuminated Ball-Point Pen" (advertisement). Infringement allegations were based on Nakajima's sale of the Hello Kitty light up pen. (Related post).
In the present case, Raymond Geddes has sued J. Rousek Toy Co., a Bishop, CA company apparently doing business as Giggletime Toy Co. In this matter, however, Raymond Geddes is asserting its U.S. Des. Patent No. 550,772, which is directed to a design for an "eraser cap for a writing instrument."
Infringement allegations in the complaint are based on Rousek's sale of an eraser cap advertised as the "Extendo" cap.
Sterne Kessler's Tracy-Gener Durkin filed the complaint on behalf of Raymond Geddes.
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Nutramax Laboratories, Inc. v. Newton-Everett, L.L.C., No. 07 Civ 02833, filed Oct. 18, 2007
This is a false advertising action under the Lanham Act against Newton-Everett, which Nutramax Labs alleges manufactures, markets, and sells a joint health supplement for cats and dogs called COSEFLEX that competes directly with Nutramax's COSEQUIN. Nutramax is a Maryland corporation based in Edgewood, MD, and claims to have "started the glucosamine/chondroitin sulfate revolution." Newton-Everett is a Scottsdale, AZ company (jurisdiction is predicated on website sales in the Maryland forum). The single count in the complaint is for violation of Sec. 43(a) of the Lanham Act (false advertising).
Robert Bowie of Bowie & Jensen LLC filed the complaint on behalf of Nutramax.
