LAS VEGAS-Nevada FCU has become ensnared in a lawsuit involving allegations of copyright and trademark infringement against one of its employees.
ChartHouse International Learning Corp., based in Burnsville, Minn., filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Minnesota accusing James Vanderlip, a training manager for the Las Vegas-based credit union, of making "unauthorized and illegal copies" of the company's works and selling them on eBay.
The company said the film, known as "Fish! Catch the Energy, Release the Potential," is an "inspirational and motivational training and learning program for business executives, employees, schools and individuals."
The training film highlights the fish market at the Pike Place Market in Seattle.
According to the complaint by ChartHouse, a copy of which was obtained by Credit Union Journal, Vanderlip purchased a licensed DVD copy of the film for the credit union on Aug. 27, 2007, for $908, through a distributor known as CRM Learning.
Three years later, on Sept. 23, 2010, a person in Oslo, Norway, contacted ChartHouse regarding a defective Fish! DVD. The company alleges the DVD was sent to the Norwegian purchaser via FedEx from a "J. Vanderlip" at an address in Las Vegas.
On March 17, 2011, ChartHouse alleges it discovered copies of the film were for sale on eBay. The complaint states there were 16 sales of the DVD on eBay accounts under Vanderlip's name.
On March 25, attorneys for ChartHouse contacted Vanderlip, who allegedly said he purchased multiple DVDs with his personal money while attending a conference in Atlanta, had no use for them, and resold them on eBay. The company alleges Nevada Federal sent ChartHouse a letter saying it asked Vanderlip about the claims against him and accepted his story.
On May 2, ChartHouse sent a second letter to NFCU challenging Vanderlip's story and requesting the credit union investigate further. The complaint states, "NFCU did not respond to ChartHouse's second letter."
The complaint was filed July 25, naming both the credit union and Vanderlip as defendants.
Greg Barnes, SVP of marketing for Nevada Federal, confirmed Vanderlip is an employee and said the credit union is "aware of the lawsuit."
"We adamantly deny the accusations and have retained appropriate legal counsel for our defense," he said. "Nevada Federal does not, has not, nor ever will knowingly violate trademark or copyright laws, period."
