HDMI Licensing Guilty of 'Blatant Extortion,' InfoComm Alleges in Counterclaim

that used the "HDMI" acronym "as a common criminal," InfoComm alleged in a counterclaim. HDMI Licensing reached out to exhibitors "indiscriminately, without devoting even minimal investigation to ascertain whether the exhibitors or other third parties had obtained a proper license from HDMI Licensing to use its alleged trademarks," said the counterclaim, filed in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas (http://1.usa.gov/ZyfZZw). It "threatened these exhibitors and other third parties with expulsion from future InfoComm trade shows unless they either ceased using the alleged trademarks or pay a licensing fee," it said. "These false and/or misleading threats amounted to blatant extortion. HDMI Licensing falsely represented the authority to revoke the exhibitors’ and other third parties’ invitation to the trade shows in the event they refused to comply with its demands." HDMI Licensing "continued this campaign of lies and threats through 2013 and 2014, causing InfoComm’s reputation with respect to intellectual property rights to be substantially injured," it said. "This diminution in reputation is likely to have a snowball effect, causing dwindling attendance for future trade shows because would-be exhibitors and other third parties would rather avoid being bullied by an entity claiming to own a trademark for something as generic as the words ‘thermos’ or ‘videotape.’" HDMI Licensing President Steve Venuti didn’t respond to requests seeking comment.