Opinion ID: 852018
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Trademarks, markings, and symbols as property

Text: Indiana Code section 35-41-1-23(a) (now I.C. § 35-31.5-2-253(a)) defines “property” as “anything of value.” The statute specifies that property includes, among other things, “a gain or advantage,” “real property, personal property, money, labor, and services,” “intangibles,” and “trade secrets.” I.C. § 35-41-1-23(a)(1), (2), (3), (9) (now I.C. § 35-31.5-2-253(a)(1), (2), (3), (9)). The definition of property as “anything of value” including “intangibles” is extremely broad and we see no reason it could not encompass the charged “trademarks and/or markings or symbols of identification.” See State v. McGraw, 480 N.E.2d 552, 554 (Ind. 1985) (recognizing that the information derived from use of a computer constitutes property under the theft statute). Cf. Conwell v. Gray Loon Outdoor Mktg. Grp., Inc., 906 N.E.2d 805, 818 (Ind. 2009) (Boehm, J. concurring in result) (agreeing with the majority’s implication “that a website design is personal property and is subject to a conversion claim, whether or not it is ‘goods’ subject to the Uniform Commercial Code”). We hasten to add that we do not declare that the “trademarks and/or markings or symbols of identification” at issue in this case actually have any value. Rather this is an evidentiary matter that is subject to proof at trial. At this stage of the proceedings we reach the narrow conclusion that the charged items may constitute property depending on the evidence. 2. Exertion of control over trademarks, markings, and symbols As discussed earlier, Indiana Code tells us what it means to “exert control” for purposes of the theft statute. “‘[E]xert control over property’ means to obtain, take, carry, drive, lead away, conceal, abandon, sell, convey, encumber, or possess property, or to secure, transfer, or extend a right to property.” I.C. § 35-43-4-1(a). The Defendants contend that it is “not theoretically possible” to “‘exert unauthorized control’ over a third party’s trademark right.” Appellant Lin’s Br. at 9. And this is so, according to the Defendants, because a trademark is merely the right to use an “identifier” to designate origin or aid in the sale of goods. Appellant 11 Lin’s Br. at 9. Thus, the argument continues, the property over which the Defendants are alleged to have exerted unauthorized control is H & K’s right to sell products with a distinctive appearance. This, according to Defendants, may constitute trademark infringement but it cannot amount to the exertion of unauthorized control. The Defendants also cite an unpublished federal district court opinion that concluded: “[N]either the Defendants’ copying of the distinct look of the [H & K] weapon nor the use of [H & K’s registered trademark] itself constitutes obtaining, taking, carrying, driving, leading away, concealing, abandoning, selling, conveying, encumbering, or possessing [H & K’s] intangible property.” Heckler & Koch, Inc. v. German Sport Guns GMBH, No. 09-cv-00039-WTL-JMS, 2009 WL 3200587, at  (S.D. Ind. Sept. 25, 2009). The court’s rationale is not readily apparent. In any event we disagree with the court’s conclusion. First, we are examining a statute which clearly prohibits a very wide range of activity. See Nash v. State, 433 N.E.2d 807, 813 (Ind. Ct. App. 1982) (“It is well established in Indiana that subsection (a) of the theft statute, which makes it an offense to knowingly exert unauthorized control over property of another, comprehends a broad field of conduct . . . .”). Second, we see no reason a trademark right cannot at least be “encumbered.” See, e.g., Black’s Law Dictionary 607 (9th ed. 2009) (defining “encumbrance” as “[a] claim or liability that is attached to property or some other right and that may lessen its value . . . ”); see also TRIPS: Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, Art. 20, 33 Int’l Legal Materials 908 (“The use of a trademark in the course of trade shall not be unjustifiably encumbered by special requirements, such as use with another trademark, use in a special form or use in a manner detrimental to its capability to distinguish the goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings.”). At the heart of and woven throughout the Defendants’ argument is the insistence that this case should be resolved under civil trademark infringement law, not criminal law. Lin argues for example, “[b]y taking sides in this commercial dispute and trying to force a resolution in H [&] K’s favor under the coercive power of the criminal law, the State has subverted the process of rights-determination that trademark law is intended to embody.” Appellant Lin’s Br. at 8. But 8 More specifically, TRIPS: Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, Art. 20, Apr. 15, 1994, Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, Annex 1C, 33 I.L.M. 90. 12 whether a theft prosecution is “the ‘wrong tool for the job’ when it comes to defining intellectual property interests,” Appellant Yao’s Br. at 15 (quoting 4 J. Thomas McCarthy, McCarthy on Trademarks and Unfair Competition § 25:9:50 (4th ed. 2008)), is not our decision to make. Rather, our job is to apply the Indiana criminal statutes as drafted by the Legislature. And under those statutes, the questions in this case include whether the Defendants, did beyond a reasonable doubt: 1) knowingly or intentionally; 2) obtain, take, carry, sell, convey, encumber, or possess property, or secure, transfer, or extend a right to property; 3) which property belonged to H & K; 4) without H & K’s consent; 5) with intent to deprive H & K of any part of the property’s value or use? And these are all questions of fact that cannot be determined on a motion to dismiss. Cf. McGraw, 480 N.E.2d at 553 (recognizing in prosecuting a person for unauthorized use of a computer as theft that dismissal may have been improper but judgment on the evidence was properly granted because the evidence did not support all the elements required by the theft statute). In this case, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Defendants’ motions to dismiss the theft and corrupt business influence charges.