Fischer v. Forrest
Filing
45
OPINION& ORDER #105140: re (51 in 1:14-cv-01307-PAE) MOTION to Dismiss Pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6). filed by Stephen T. Forrest, Jr., Stephen T Forrest, Sandra F. Forrest, (45 in 1:14-cv-01307-PAE) MOTION to Dismiss Complaint in 14cv1307 filed on February 27, 2014 pursuant to FRCP 12(b)(6). filed by Stephen T Forrest, (30 in 1:14-cv-01304-PAE) MOTION to Dismiss Amended Complaint in 14cv1304 filed on May 27, 2014 pursuant to FRCP 12(b)(6). filed by Stephen T. Forrest, Sand ra F. Forrest. For the foregoing reasons, Forrest's motion to dismiss is denied in its entirety. An order regarding next steps in this litigation will issue shortly. The Clerk of Court is directed to terminate the motions pending at 14 Civ. 1304, Dkt. 30; 14 Civ. 1307, Dkt. 45; and 14 Civ. 1307, Dkt. 51. (Signed by Judge Paul A. Engelmayer on 1/13/2015) (djc) Modified on 1/14/2015 (ca).
USNC SDNY
DOCUI\ÍENT
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
EI-ECT'RONIC¡\LLY
X
T
ILED
DOC #:
DATtr FII,ED: I/I3
I2OIâ,
JAMES H. FISCHER,
14 Civ. 1304 (PAE)
Plaintiff,
14 Civ. 1307 (PAE)
-vOPINION & ORDER
STEPHEN T. FORREST and SANDRA F. FORREST,
Defendants.
X
PAUL A. ENGELMAYER, District Judge:
Plaintiff James H. Fischer ("Fischer"), proceedingpro se, filed these two nearly identical
ooForrest"). Fischer, the
actions against Stephen T. Fonest and Sandra F. Forrest (collectively,
creator of a popular honey harvesting product called Fischer's Bee-Quick, alleges that Forrest
used his proprietary text, images, and names to sell a knock-off product, thereby violating the
federal Copyright Act,17 U.S.C. $ 101 er seq.;the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
("DMCA"),
17 U.S.C. $ 1201 et seq.; and the Lanham
also brings claims under New York state
Act,
15 U.S,C. $ 1051 et
law-for violation of his right
seq' Fischer
of publicity, unfair
competition, unfair business practices, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment. Forrest now
moves to dismiss both complaints in their entirety. For the following reasons, the Court denies
Forrest's motion.
-
I.
Background
A.
Factual Backgroundl
In 1999, Fischer invented
and began producingooa new honey harvesting aid for
beekeepers" that he named Fischer's Bee-Quick. Am. Compl.
Il24;
Am, Compl. II T 35.
Fischer promoted his product as "unique" in that it is "a food-safe, non-toxic, not foul-smelling,
and effective substance that beekeepers can trust to use with their honey and their bees." Am.
Compl.
Il24;Am.
Compl. II fl 35; see also, e.g,, Am. Compl. I Ex. 5 (Bee-Quick brochure);
Am. Compl. II Ex. 5 (same). Fischer's Bee-Quick "quickly became one of the most in-demand
products in beekeeping." Am. Compl.
I\26;
Am. Compl. II
I40.
On December 11, 2001,
Fischer formally registered the "Bee-Quick" mark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Am. Compl. I '11 28, Ex.2 (trademark registration certificate).
In2002, Fischer authorized Brushy Mountain Bee Farm-a mail-order business owned
and operated by Stephen and Sandra
Forest-to
sell Bee-Quick. Am. Compl. I flfl 8-10, 30;
Am. Compl. II,I.[I 7-9,42. In connection with this agreement, Fischer authorized Brushy
Mountain to use the trademarked name of his product, images he had created, and text he had
written to sell Bee-Quick through Brushy Mountain's website and print catalogues' Am. Compl.
I TI 31,46; Am. Compl. II lTI 21,43,63-67.
On December 10, 2010, Brushy Mountain unilaterally terminated the parties' business
relationship. Am. Compl.
Il32;
Am. Compl. II
ï 23. Specifically,
a
Brushy Mountain
employee sent Fischer an email that stated:
I These facts are drawn from the Amended Complaints filed in these two cases and the exhibits
attached thereto. See 14 Civ. 1304, Dkt. 23 ("4m. Compl. I"); 14 Civ. 1307, Dkt. 50 ("4m.
Compl. II"). For the purpose of resolving the motion to dismiss, the Court assumes all well-pled
facts to be true and draws all reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiff. See Koch v.
Christie's Int'l PLC,699 F.3d 141, 145 (2dCit.2012),
2
am the messenger informing you (per Steve fForrest] & Shane
fGebauer]) that we are retufning the BEE QUICK . . . . I was not informed that we
were discontinuing the Bee-Quick in our 201 | catalog, nor previously requested to
cancel my order with you. Please provide the address you need to have the BeeQuick sent to.
Regretfully,
I
Am. Compl. I Ex. 3(b); Am. Compl. II Ex. 3(b).
Soon after, on February 7,2011, Fischer registered the text and images displayed on his
website with the U.S. Copyright Office. Am. Compl. I'1T1[39,
l2l,Ex.4
(copyright registration
certificate); Am. Compl. II IT 37, 61, Ex. 4 (same). He also renewed his trademark registration
for the Bee-Quick mark. Am. Compl.In29, Ex. 2 (trademark registration certificate).
At some point in early 2011, Brushy Mountain began selling a'oknock-off product" called
Natural Honey Harvester. Am. Compl. I T 53; Am. Compl. II
lT
24, Inconnection with
sales
of
that product, Brushy Mountain used text and images that Fischer had created to promote Bee-
Quick. Am. Compl. I TIT 53-58; Am. Compl. II llT 73-77. For example, until 2010, Brushy
Mountain had, with Fischer's authorization, used the following text to describe Bee-Quick:
This 100% natural, non-toxic blend of oils and herb extracts works just like Bee Go
and it smells good! Fischer's Bee Quick is a safe, gentle, and pleasant way to
harvest your honey. Are you tired of your spouse making you sleep in the garcge
after using Bee Go? Are you tired of using ahazardous product on the bees you
love? Then this is the product for you!
Am. Compl. I Ex. 7 (2010 website); Am. Compl. II Ex. 20 (2005,2006,2009, and 2010
catalogues). This description was excerpted from a longer text that originally appeared on
Fischer's website.2 Am. Compl. n
I67.
Starting in 2011, Brushy Mountain used much of this
text, verbatim, to describe Natural Honey Harvester. Both the website and print catalogue stated:
For years we have promoted the use of a natural product to harvest honey but an
unreliable supply of such a product has forced us to come out with our own. This
l00o natural, non-toxic btend of oils and herb extracts works just like Bee Go
and it smells good! Natural Honey Harvester is a safe, gentle, and pleasant way
2
Fischer's website is http://bee-quick.com.
J
to harvest your honey. Are you tired of your spouse making you sleep in the
garage after using Bee Go? Are you tired of usingahazardous product on the
bees you love? Then this is the product for you!
Am. Compl. I Ex.
S
(2011 website) (emphasis added); Am. Compl. II Ex. 20 (2011 through 2014
catalogues) (emphasis added). Brushy Mountain's actions led other dealers of beekeeping
products to use identical text to describe Natural Honey Harvester on their websites. See Am.
Compl.
Il7z;Am.
Compl. II
fil 32,49-57,82-89,F;x.21(The
Honey Hole website),F;x.22
(C&T Bee Supply website).
Brushy Mountain also used a photograph of a Bee-Quick bottle on a webpage on which
consumers could purchase Natural Honey Harvester. Am. Compl. I Ex. 11, Ex.
image, the words
ooFischer's Bee-Quick" are legible, and distinctive elements of the Bee-Quick
trade dress-including the bottle shape, cartoon bee mascot, and red
Compl.
l\
12' In the
text-are visible. Am.
144. Both the text quoted above and this image were stripped of the copyright
management information ("CMI") that had previously accompanied them. Am. Compl. I T'1T90-
92; Am. Compl. II TT 119-2L
Brushy Mountain also retained the name "Fischer's Bee-Quick" in the URL for
a
Natural
Honey Harvester product page. Am. Compl. IEx.12, Ex. 13. As a result, consumers who
searched for Fischer's Bee-Quick through internet search engines may have been misdirected to
a webpage selling
Natural Honey Harvester. Am. Compl. I ll 136.
Fischer never authorized Brushy Mountain's use of his copyrighted works and protected
mark to sell a competing, knock-off product. Am. Compl' I
78. Accordingly, on April 5,2011, Fischer sent Forrest
I'1T
33,59; Am. Compl. II tTf 25,71,
a cease-and-desist letter, which notified
Forrest of Fischer's registered copyright and trademark and demanded that Forrest terminate use
of the name Bee-Quick, Fischer's copyrighted works, and the trade secrets disclosed in the
4
course of the parties' business relationship. Am. Compl. I1J70, Ex. 15; Am. Compl. II'u 33, Ex.
15. In response, Brushy Mountain's General Manager Shane Gebauer sent Fischer a letter
asserting that "[a]fter careful review by our attorney, there does not seem to [be] grounds for
your request." Am. Compl. I Ex. 16; Am, Compl. II Ex. 16. As recently as May 2l,2014,the
Brushy Mountain website continued to feature Fischer's proprietary text, images, and mark on a
webpage selling Natural Honey Harvester. Am' Compl. I TT 133,I44,151, 158.
B.
Procedural History
On February 27,2014, Fischer filed two actions against Stephen Forrest. 14 Civ. 1304,
Dkt.
1 ("Compl.
I");
14 Civ. 1307,
Dkt.2 ("Compl.
II"). On April 1 I,2074, Forrest moved to
dismiss the first complaint. 14 Civ. 1304, Dkt. 8. In response, on May 27,2014, Fischer filed an
Amended Complaint against both Stephen and Sandra Forrest. Id. Dkt,23 ("Am. Compl' I").
Initially, Forest did not appear in the second action or answer the second complaint' In
early April 2014, Fischer obtained a clerk's certificate of default and moved for default judgment
in the second action. 14 Civ. 1307, Dkt. 5-10. Pursuant to orders issued by the Court, Forrest
appeared on
April 17,2014, id. Dkt. 12, andresponded to Fischer's motion on April 25,2014,
Dl
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