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MajorsNov 13, 2017
Adwar Suing 2 Companies for Copyright Infringement
The casting company alleges that Star Gems and Mercury Ring/Interjewel USA knocked off a few of its designs.
Adwar Casting is suing Star Gems for allegedly knocking off two of its copyrighted designs, one of which is seen here at left.
Rockville Centre, N.Y.--Adwar Casting has filed two lawsuits in the state of New York against companies it alleges are knocking off its designs.
The first was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on Oct. 27 against Norcross, Georgia-based Star Gems, a wholesale manufacturer and seller of jewelry products, and its president and CEO, Anish Desai.
The lawsuit alleges that, in or around July of this year, Star Gems used two of Adwar’s copyrighted pieces of artwork without permission--one a picture of a ring and the other of a pendant--and began marketing and selling jewelry using them.
Keith Adwar, the company’s chief financial officer, said they saw posts online in which Desai was using Adwar’s image and offering to make their product without permission.
He said they talked to Desai and asked him to stop, but, as noted in the lawsuit, “despite having knowledge of its wrongful activities,” Star Gems continues to market and sell products using artwork similar or the same as Adwar’s own. 
In a statement to National Jeweler sent via email, Desai said: “When you look at the exhibits attached to the complaint, they consist of two social media posts and do not show any evidence of any infringement of manufacturing done by Star Gems. Our attorney has already send out a response to this baseless claim.”
But Adwar maintained that because the two designs are copyrighted, it is still not legal to take images of them and offer to make the designs.
“It’s important for people to learn that with the new technology we have, customers cannot just take a picture of yours and say, ‘I can make this,’” he said.
Adwar Casting filed the second lawsuit in the same court on Nov. 1 against Interjewel USA and its President Sanjay Kothari, as well as Mercury Ring and its CEO, Phyllis Bergman.
Mercury Ring is a division of Interjewel USA, which falls under India-based Interjewel. The companies sell their jewelry products through their websites, as well as through retailers.
In the lawsuit, Adwar Casting alleges that around 2016/2017, Interjewel USA and Mercury Ring took one of its designs, which is copyrighted, and started marketing and selling jewelry products using said design.
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style that Adwar alleges was knocked off by Mercury Ring/Interjewel.
Keith Adwar said they approached Bergman about what they believed the company was doing, and also asked for the models and molds back of the design the companies allegedly had knocked off, offering to let it drop after that.
But, the lawsuit alleges that, “despite having knowledge of its wrongful activities,” Mercury Ring and Interjewel USA continued to market and sell products with artwork that is similar to or the same as Adwar’s artwork.
Adwar also alleges in the suit that the companies have infringed other works from the company, citing one instance in which they advised their employees via an internal document to “knock off all Adwar pieces that are ordered.”
Neither Mercury Ring nor Interjewel USA responded to requests for comment by press time.
Adwar Casting is seeking damages in both lawsuits because, it said, it has lost income and continues to do so because of these activities.
In addition to asking for a judgment permanently enjoining the previously mentioned activities, in each case it also is asking for damages paid of three times the profits made through the allegedly infringing pieces, as well as three times the amount of actual damages incurred by the infringing or the maximum amount of statutory damages that resulted, attorney and lawsuit costs, and other payment as the court deems proper.
Keith Adwar said they approached Bergman about what they believed the company was doing, and also asked for the models and molds back of the design the companies allegedly had knocked off, offering to let it drop after that.
But, the lawsuit alleges that, “despite having knowledge of its wrongful activities,” Mercury Ring and Interjewel USA continued to market and sell products with artwork that is similar to or the same as Adwar’s artwork.
Adwar also alleges in the suit that the companies have infringed other works from the company, citing one instance in which they advised their employees via an internal document to “knock off all Adwar pieces that are ordered.”
Neither Mercury Ring nor Interjewel USA responded to requests for comment by press time.
Adwar Casting is seeking damages in both lawsuits because, it said, it has lost income and continues to do so because of these activities.
In addition to asking for a judgment permanently enjoining the previously mentioned activities, in each case it also is asking for damages paid of three times the profits made through the allegedly infringing pieces, as well as three times the amount of actual damages incurred by the infringing or the maximum amount of statutory damages that resulted, attorney and lawsuit costs, and other payment as the court deems proper.
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