FRESNO — A California company is suing a former franchisee, alleging copyright and trademark infringement.
The Screenmobile Corporation filed a complaint July 6 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Eastern Division against Darrick Pierce, Mobil Screenpro, and Does 1 through 50, inclusive, alleging the defendants used photographs and website content without the plaintiff's authorization or consent.
According to the complaint, in February , Screenmobile and Pierce entered into an asset purchase agreement wherein Pierce would sell his franchise to a third-party company rather than risk losing his franchise for nothing. Pierce, the suit says, then set up his own company that competed with Screenmobile, offering the exact same products and using the plaintiff's trademarks and business slogans without the plaintiff's consent or approval.
The plaintiff alleges the defendants use photographs and website content without Screenmobile's authorization and had the knowledge of the copyright infringement but has failed and refuses to stop the reproduction and display of the copyrighted material.
Screenmobile seeks trial by jury, temporary, preliminary and permanent injunction, special, general and compensatory damages, pre-judgment interest, attorney fees, costs incurred, and all other just and proper relief. They are represented by attorneys Martin E. Dack, Jayson Q. Marasigan and Pamchal Deylami of Dack Marasigan LLP in Irvine.
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Eastern Division case number 5:17-cv-01364-JGB-KK