Hartford Business Journal

8 Hartford Business Journal • June 10, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com Reporter's Notebook Matt Pilon | mpilon@HartfordBusiness.com Health Care/Bioscience, Startups & Entrepreneurs, Government/Law and Energy LEGAL & COURTS Models slap CT strip clubs with trademark lawsuits C armen Electra and more than two dozen other models and actresses are suing six Connecticut strip clubs for trademark infringement, alleging that the venues used their photos in promotional and advertising materials without permission or compensation. Attorneys for the women filed five lawsuits in April alleging trademark infringement, unfair trade practices, privacy violations and other counts against the following clubs: Mynx Hartford, Mynx Groton, Mardi Gras II in East Windsor, Hollywood Cabaret in Southington, Rockstar Cabaret in Wolcott and Keepers in Milford. A few plaintiffs, like Electra, are named in several of the recent suits. The models argue that the alleged use of their images was misleading because they never worked at or were affiliated with the clubs. They also allege the venues did not pay them to use their pictures, a number of which appeared in promotional materials on the clubs' websites and social media pages, the complaints allege. Besides Electra, whose legal name is Tara Leigh Patrick, reality TV actress and model Joanna Krupa is also among the pool of Connecticut plaintiffs. Electra is a plaintiff in the com- plaints filed against the Mynx clubs and Rockstar Cabaret. Attorneys for the Mynx clubs and their owner, Alfred Ciraldo, did not respond to a request for comment. Peter Shapiro, an attorney for Rock- star and its owner Andrew Wielblad, declined comment. Jonathan Klein, an attorney for Keepers, also declined comment. As of press time, no attor- neys had entered an appearance for Hollywood Cabaret and Mardi Gras II. The suits appear to be part of a national trend. In November, the Cincinnati Enquir- er reported that groups of models and actresses had filed at least 50 lawsuits against strip clubs in at least eight states. The Connecticut suits, all filed by New Haven-based attorney John Radshaw III, appear to be the first time that clubs here have been targeted. Regardless of the number of suits, it may be difficult for the models to get significant payouts. In January, a New York federal judge issued a permanent injunction barring several strip clubs from using Electra's image. However, the court awarded her no money because she couldn't prove the club profited from her image, or that she lost money as a result of its use, Bloomberg Law reported. Meanwhile, other fellow plaintiffs didn't win injunctions or damages, partly because they could not prove they had a trademark recognizable to consumers, the website said. BIOTECHNOLOGY W. Hartford-linked migraine device wins FDA approval A n Israeli company that has devel- oped a medical device that treats migraines is set to start selling its wares in the United States later this year, and a local physician is partly to thank. The U.S. Food & Drug Administra- tion recently approved Theranica's "Nerivio Migra," a non-invasive, smart- phone-enabled device that delivers electricity through an upper armband. The FDA grant- ed the device "De Novo" approval, which means it is considered a novel technology compared to ex- isting products. Dr. Brian Grosberg, direc- tor of the Hart- ford HealthCare Headache Center in West Hartford, was the principal investigator for the device's clinical study. The randomized study took place at 13 sites across the United States and Israel between Dec. 2017 and Oct. 2018, and involved 252 patients who suffered from severe migraines. Half were assigned to use Therani- ca's device, while the other half were assigned a placebo device. The study found statistically signifi- cant beneficial results for patients who used the device, including that nearly 67 percent felt pain relief two hours after receiving treatment, compared to less than 39 percent who used the placebo. In addition, two hours after treatment, more than 37 percent of patients report- ed being free of migraine pain entirely. The results caught the eye of other headache physicians around the country. "It indicates that the device can pro- vide patients with significant relief of pain and other migraine symptoms with- out the side effects presented by drugs," said Messoud Ashina, president-elect of the International Headache Society. This Facebook screenshot was included as an exhibit in the lawsuit against East Windsor's Mardi Gras II. Pictured is one of the plaintiffs, Kim Cozzens, according to the suit. Theranica's Nerivio Migra device fits inside an armband. Dr. Brian Grosberg, Director, Hartford HealthCare Headache Center HIGHER EDUCATION College gender gap Women have long outnumbered men when it comes to college enrollment in the state. That trend continued in the recent school year, as male enrollment across public and independent colleges and universities dipped for the fourth year in a row to 83,468, while female enrollment increased for the third year in a row to 115,421. Source: Connecticut Office of Higher Education; IPEDS fall enrollment survey 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000 CT College enrollment Men Women IMAGE | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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