Lawson Prods., Inc. v. Midwest Motor Supply Co. d/b/a Kimball Midwest, No. 17 C 1250, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Dec. 8, 2017) (Gilbert, Mag. J.).

Judge Gilbert granted in part defendant Kimball Midwest’s motion for a protective order regarding plaintiff Lawson Products’ first interrogatories in this copyright and Latham Act case.

The Court limited the historic reach of Lawson Products’ interrogatories to March 2015. The document at issue in the case was created in December 2016. While it was too narrow to limit discovery to December 2016 forward, March 2015 was a more appropriate limitation than Lawson Products’ date range going back to 2012. March 2015 was appropriate because that date was referenced in Lawson Products’ complaint as a date relevant to the dispute, since which Kimball Midwest’s website has allegedly been revised.

The Court held that treating Lawson Products’ trade dress as any shade of yellow or brown was too broad. Instead of defining its trade dress or rewriting its interrogatories for it, the Court ordered the parties to confer amongst themselves.

The Court granted Kimball Midwest a protective order regarding the interrogatory seeking all comparative advertising regarding competitors. Seeking all comparative advertising without some additional, reasonable limitations was too much in this instance.