On Friday, February 4, 2011, Dion Designs filed a seven-count complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana against Allwin Powersports Corp. (and others) and simultaneously sought a preliminary injunction against Allwin Powersports.

Allwin hired Kinne IP Group in the late afternoon of Monday, February 7. Because the Dealer Expo in Indianapolis was just eleven days away, we expected a fast track to the motion. Sure enough, on Wednesday, February 9, the court set a hearing for the following Monday, February 14.

Kinne IP Group threw everything it had into the defense, interviewing potential witnesses, gathering as much information as possible and writing a summary brief to be filed on Friday, well before the hearing. At the conclusion of the evidentiary hearing before Hon. Tim A. Baker, U.S. District Magistrate Judge, Kinne IP Group obtained a ruling recommending denial of the preliminary injunction. Chief Judge Richard L. Young adopted this recommendation on Friday morning, February 18, and hours later, Allwin Powersports attended the Dealer Expo with its full complement of products.

For Allwin, the whirlwind preparation and activity was unprecedented. At stake was its right to show its complete line of products, as the newly-created U.S. and Canadian distributor for one of the world's largest manufacturers of motorcycle helmets, MHR. MHR sells approximately two million motorcycle helmets per year throughout the world.

For Kinne IP Group, this type of hurried activity is familiar, particularly in connection with a trade show. Our experience in obtaining and opposing preliminary relief dates back more than twenty-five years.