Sound Surgical Technologies, LLC v. Leonard A. Rubinstein, M.D., P.A.

734 F. Supp. 2d 1262, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92882, 2010 WL 3199893
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedAugust 12, 2010
Docket3:10-cv-00970
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 734 F. Supp. 2d 1262 (Sound Surgical Technologies, LLC v. Leonard A. Rubinstein, M.D., P.A.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sound Surgical Technologies, LLC v. Leonard A. Rubinstein, M.D., P.A., 734 F. Supp. 2d 1262, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92882, 2010 WL 3199893 (M.D. Fla. 2010).

Opinion

ORDER

JAMES D. WHITTEMORE, District Judge.

BEFORE THE COURT is Plaintiffs Motion for Preliminary Injunction (Dkt. 3) and the parties’ affidavits supporting and opposing the motion (Dkts. 4, 5, 14, 17, 19). 1 Having considered the parties’ submissions and the arguments of counsel at the June 2, 2010, hearing, the Court concludes that Plaintiffs motion should be GRANTED in part.

Background

Plaintiff Sound Surgical Technologies, LLC (“Plaintiff or SST”) manufactures and distributes the VASER System, which is an ultrasonic surgical system used by physicians to perform ultrasound-assisted lipoplasty. 2 Defendant Leonard A. Rubinstein, M.D., P.A. (“Rubinstein P.A.”) is a Florida corporation operating as a medical practice in Sarasota County. Defs. Ans., Dkt. 22, ¶ 2. Rubinstein, P.A. is owned and operated by Defendant Leonard A. Rubinstein, M.D. (“Rubinstein”). Id. In his practice, Rubinstein offers, among other services, cosmetic surgery, including lipoplasty. Id.; Goldberger Aff. ¶ 2.

About February 26, 2007, Plaintiff entered into a License and Use Agreement (the “LUA” [Dkt. 5 at 15-19]) with Rubinstein P.A. Id.; Dkt. 22, ¶ 14. Pursuant to the LUA, Rubinstein P.A. was granted a nonexclusive license to use Plaintiffs VASER System (or, as, as Rubinstein calls it, Plaintiffs VASER LIPOSELECTION System). The agreement also granted Rubinstein P.A. the right to use Plaintiffs registered trademark VASER 3 and Plaintiffs registered service mark LIPOSE-LECTION, 4 subject to Plaintiffs prior review and approval of any proposed use of the marks in any manner other than on marketing materials provided by Plaintiff, “including use on [Rubinstein P.A.’s] website or in other advertising or marketing material.” LUA § l.e.

The LUA provides that its initial term commences “on the date [Rubinstein P.A.] accept[s] the Equipment (the ‘Effective Date’) and continues through the last day of the 24th full calendar month following such date of acceptance” unless terminated *1266 sooner as provided in the agreement. LUA § l.a. The LUA provides that Rubinstein P.A. may renew the LUA for additional 24-month terms “by notice given to [Plaintiff] at least 30 days prior to the end of the term then in effect .Id.

In their initial affidavits, John Sullivan and Daniel Goldberger, Plaintiffs chief financial officer and chief executive officer, respectively, averred that the LUA expired on March 31, 2009 with respect to one VASER System (the “first system”) and August 31, 2009 with respect to another (the “second system”). 5 As the first system was accepted on March 9, 2007 (Dkt. 5 at 23), the LUA by its terms evidently expired as to the first device on March 31, 2009. However, Goldberger and Sullivan do not explain how they derived the expiration date of August 31, 2009 for the second system. Attached to Sullivan’s affidavit and to the Complaint is a document entitled “Acceptance of Equipment” (Dkt. 5 at 20) that appears to be an acknowledgment by Rubinstein of Rubinstein P.A.’s receipt of a second VASER system. The document also acknowledges that “the date of this Acceptance ... is the Effective Date of the Agreement,” ie., of the LUA (as a notation in the margin defining the “Agreement” indicates). As the document is dated August 14, 2008, it appears to suggest that the LUA was to expire by its terms as to this VASER system on August 31, 2010 (not 2009).

Rubinstein states that, without cause, Plaintiff unilaterally terminated the LUA. 6 In his supplemental affidavit, Goldberger denies that Plaintiff terminated the LUA and avers that it “expired of its own terms on March 31, 2009 when Dr. Rubinstein failed to give notice of intent to renew after the initial 24 month term beginning April 1, 2007.” Goldberger Supp. Aff. ¶ 4. Goldberger does not repeat his and Sullivan’s averment that, as to the second system, the LUA expired on August 31, 2009. In sum, the record contains conflicting, ambiguous evidence as to when and how the LUA expired. However, all VASER Systems in Defendants’ possession have been returned to Plaintiff. Goldberger Aff. ¶ 3; Sullivan Aff. ¶ 7; see also Rubinstein Aff. at 2, 4.

About January 15, 2008, Rubinstein registered (or “reserved”) with an unspecified registrar the following eight domain names: vaserlipo.com, vaserlipo.org, vaserlipo.info, vaser-lipo.com, vaser-lipo.net, vaser-lipo.org, vaser-lipo.info, vaser-lipo.us (together, the “domain names”). Sullivan Aff. ¶ 8; see also Rubinstein Aff. at 1-2. Sullivan states that Defendants did not submit the proposed domain names to Plaintiff for prior approval and that the domain names were registered without Plaintiffs knowledge, authorization, or consent. 7 Goldberger states that no person having authority to commit Plaintiff ever authorized Rubinstein to use the VA-SER mark in any domain name or to use the VASER LIPO mark in any manner. 8

Additionally, Sullivan avers that, in the past, when a licensee physician has requested a specialized domain name directing internet traffic to the physician’s website, Plaintiff (if it approved the domain name) would register the domain name in its own name and cause the domain name to direct Internet traffic to the licensee *1267 physician’s website. Sullivan Supp. Aff. ¶ 2. However, upon expiration of the pertinent license, Plaintiff would cause the domain name to direct Internet traffic to Plaintiffs official website, www.vaser.com. Id. Plaintiff has registered more than 280 domain names, most of which direct Internet traffic to Plaintiffs official website. Id. ¶ 3.

In their initial affidavits, Sullivan and Goldberger indicated that, as of April 8 and 12, 2010, respectively, the domain names channeled Internet traffic towww.larubinstein.com, the website for Defendants’ medical practice, where Defendants advertise a laser-assisted lipoplasty procedure that differs significantly from Plaintiffs VASER System. Sullivan Aff. ¶ 8; Goldberger Aff. ¶ 4. Rubinstein did not dispute the fact in his initial affidavit. However, in a supplemental affidavit filed after the deadline imposed by the Court’s May 10, 2010 order (Dkt. 8), Rubinstein states that, because there is no longer in effect an LUA that permits him to use Plaintiffs registered marks on his websites or other advertising relating to his medical practice, the domain names no longer direct traffic to Rubinstein’s medical practice’s website. 9 Although Rubinstein does not state when the domain names ceased channeling traffic to the website for his medical practice, Rubinstein’s counsel did not dispute Plaintiffs counsel’s representation during oral argument that the domain names continued to do so until the day before the June 2, 2010, hearing.

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734 F. Supp. 2d 1262, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92882, 2010 WL 3199893, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sound-surgical-technologies-llc-v-leonard-a-rubinstein-md-pa-flmd-2010.