It’s time for another Featured Case on Florida IP Trends. This case was filed in the Middle District on April 28, 2009. This is admittedly a little early to be a featured case (no Answer has been filed), but the facts are fun, and I spotted an interesting side issue that I would like to explore.
Rudolph and Me, Inc. v. Timmy Woods Beverly Hills, Ltd. et al, Case No.8:2009-cv-00796 (M.D. FL)
Complaint | Exhibit A | Exhibit B
The main issue in Rudolph and Me is copyright infringement. I have recruited my colleague, Amber Neilson, to write an article about the copyright issues, and her post is forthcoming.
The basic facts are that the Plaintiff, Rudolph and Me, Inc., designs and sells Christmas ornaments. While attending a trade show earlier this year they spotted Defendant Timmy Woods selling a purse that looks remarkably similar to one of Plaintiff’s ornaments.
The copyright analysis will be posted shortly, but while I was exploring the Timmy Woods website, I noticed that Ms. Woods also designed an “Obama Bag” using the ubiquitous “Obama ‘O’ Logo.” For more on that, check out this post.
Florida IP Trends 
Reminds me a bit of this case:
L. Batlin & Son, Inc. v. Snyder
I just find it funny that Rudolph and Me started their company by taking designs from other companies and using it for themself.
They continue to steal designs and have made a living out of this. Infringing should be part of the Rudolph and Me name. By the way, Rudolph with the red nose is the logo used by R & Me and it doesn’t even belong to them. Even their own logo is stolen…?