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ST. LOUIS RECORD

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Etrailer accuses online competitor of stealing photos

Copyright 12

ST. LOUIS — An online vendor of motor vehicle accessories from Wentzville is suing a seller and manufacturer of towing products and parts, citing alleged copyright infringement.

Etrailer Corp. filed a complaint on April 13 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri against Automatic Equipment MFG Co., d/b/a Blue Ox, alleging that it violated the Copyright Act and the Lanham Act.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that in 2016, it was the sole legal owner of thousands of copyright-protected photographs and videos posted on its website. However, the images were stolen and reposted from the defendant's website with some of Etrailer's marks or indicia removed in certain photographs and videos. The plaintiff has suffered economic harm, and the images will likely cause confusion to online buyers. The plaintiff holds the defendant responsible because it allegedly copied and displayed unauthorized copies of the plaintiff's work on its website and continued to display, possess and disseminate the stolen images.

The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks to have the defendant provide a positive proof of destruction of any unlawful copies of the plaintiff's works, monetary damages, attorneys fees, costs and such other relief that the court determines just and proper. It is represented by Don V. Kelly of Evans and Dixon LLC in St. Louis.

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri Case number 4:17-cv-01309

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