Case 3:17-cv-01725-UN4 Document 1 Filed 09/25/17 Page 1 of 13

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

KEITH F. BELL, Ph.D.,
Plaintiff

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v.

KING’S COLLEGE,
-ANDJEFFERY KNARR,
Defendants.

Civil Action No.
COMPLAINT FOR
Copyright Infringement
and Trademark Infringement
JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

COMPLAINT
Plaintiff, Keith F. Bell, Ph.D. (“Dr. Bell” or “Plaintiff’) files this Complaint
to recover damages arising from violations of Dr. Bell’s intellectual property rights
by Defendant, King’s College (“King’s College” or “Defendant”), and in support of
his claim states as follows:
PARTIES
1. Keith Bell, Ph.D. ("Bell") is a resident of Texas, who maintains his primary
business office and residence at 3101 Mistyglen Circle, Austin, TX 78746.
2. King’s College is a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation that maintains its
primary offices at 133 North River Street, Wilkes Barre, PA 18711.

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3. Upon information and belief, Jeffery Knarr ("Knarr") is an individual employed
by King’s College as its Head Football Coach, residing at 2700 Auburn Ave,
Easton, PA 18045.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
4. This is a civil action seeking damages and injunctive relief for copyright
infringement under the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 101, et seq., for trademark
infringement under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1051, et seq., and for common
law unfair competition and trademark infringement under Pennsylvania
common law.
5. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over Dr. Bell’s claims arising under
the Copyright Act pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and § 1338(a), and arising
under the Lanham Act pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1121(a) and 28 U.S.C. § 1331
and § 1338(a).
6. This Court has supplemental jurisdiction over Dr. Bell’s claims arising under
Pennsylvania law pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367.
7. This Court has personal jurisdiction over defendant King’s College because its
principal place of business is in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
8. This Court has personal jurisdiction over defendant Jeffery Knarr because he is
a resident of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
9. Venue is proper in this District pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391 and § 1400(a).

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GENERAL ALLEGATIONS
Dr. Bell and his Sports Psychology Practice
10.Dr. Bell is an internationally recognized sports psychology and performance
consultant. He has worked as a sports psychologist with over 500 teams,
including the Olympic and national teams for the United States, Canada,
Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Fiji, and the Cayman Islands.
11.In addition to his work with sports teams, Dr. Bell speaks at national and
international coaching symposia. Among others, he has been a featured speaker
with the American Swim Coaches Association, Australian Coaches
Association, Canadian Coaches Association, the Japanese Coaches Association,
and the British Swim Coaches Association.
12.Dr. Bell has also enjoyed success as an athlete and coach. He is a four-time
collegiate All-American swimmer, a holder of numerous world and national
masters swim records, and has coached several collegiate, high school, and
private swim teams to competitive success.
13.Further, Dr. Bell has authored and had published 10 books and over 80 articles
relating to sports psychology and sports performance. He also has been a
regular columnist for national swimming publications such as Swimmers,
Swimmers Coach, SwimSwam, and Swim Texas Magazine, and is a regular
contributor to Austin Fit Magazine.

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Dr. Bell’s Original Literary Work, Winning Isn’t Normal
14.In 1981, Dr. Bell wrote the book entitled Winning Isn't Normal (“Winning Isn’t
Normal” or the “Infringed Work”), which was first published in 1982. The book
has enjoyed substantial acclaim, distribution and publicity. Dr. Bell is the sole
author of this work, and continues to own all rights in the work.
15.Dr. Bell holds a copyright registration for the Infringed Work, Winning Isn’t
Normal. A copyright registration certificate was issued by the United States
Copyright Office for Winning Isn't Normal on or about September 21, 1989,
with the registration number TX-0002-6726-44. A true and correct copy of the
Certificate of Registration is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
16.Since Dr. Bell authored and published the Infringed Work, Winning Isn’t
Normal, he has and continues to promote, distribute, offer for sale, and sell
numerous copies of the work. Currently, Dr. Bell offers Winning Isn’t Normal
for sale through Amazon.com and the website keelpublications.com.
17.Dr. Bell has made and continues to make meaningful efforts to create a market
for Winning Isn’t Normal and to protect and enjoy the rights afforded to him
under the Copyright Act.
18.For example, Dr. Bell creates, markets, and sells derivative works featuring
Winning Isn’t Normal, such as posters and t-shirts that display a portion of
Winning Isn’t Normal. This portion of Winning Isn’t Normal is viewed by Dr.

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Bell and others as the heart of Dr. Bell’s literary work. A true and correct copy
of this portion of Dr. Bell’s work is attached as Exhibit B.
19.This portion of Dr. Bell’s work contains the expression “Winning is unusual –
as such it requires unusual action.” On information and belief, no other
published copyrighted work contains this expression.
20.Dr. Bell owns the domain winningisntnormal.com, which points to the
keelpublications.com website where Dr. Bell offers the Infringed Work
Winning Isn’t Normal and derivative works for sale.
21.Due to the popularity of his original work Winning Isn’t Normal, Dr. Bell has
been able to increase his international recognition as an authority in sports
psychology and sports performance, and has been asked to speak at
conferences, symposia, and other engagements as a result.
22.Dr. Bell has offered and continues to offer licenses at fair and reasonable rates
to others who wish to publish or otherwise use the popular Winning Isn’t
Normal on the internet or in traditional publishing mediums.
23.Dr. Bell has taken due care to provide notice of his copyright in Winning Isn’t
Normal. Dr. Bell has included pertinent copyright notices on physical and
electronic copies of Winning Isn’t Normal, provides pertinent copyright notices
on Amazon.com and keelpublications.com, and includes a conspicuous
copyright watermark on digital images of derivative works (such as posters) or

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excerpts that he posts online or otherwise distributes.
24.Dr. Bell also includes information on keelpublications.com regarding how to
contact Dr. Bell about obtaining permission to use Winning Isn’t Normal.
25.Because of Dr. Bell’s commercial efforts, Dr. Bell enjoys trademark protection
in the word mark “WINNING ISN’T NORMAL,” which he uses in connection
with various goods and services, including his “Winning Isn’t Normal®” series
of books of which Winning Isn’t Normal is part. The United States Patent and
Trademark Office issued a trademark registration to Dr. Bell for “WINNING
ISN’T NORMAL” for printed matter on November 4, 2014, with a registration
number of 4630749. A copy of the trademark registration is attached as Exhibit
C.
26.Pursuant to Section 33(b) of the Lanham Act, registration of the WINNING
ISN’T NORMAL® mark is conclusive evidence of the validity of the registered
mark and of Dr. Bell’s right to use the registered mark in commerce in
connection with the goods or services specified in the registration.
27.As a result of the unique and distinctive nature of Dr. Bell’s WINNING ISN’T
NORMAL® mark and his continued commercial use of the mark, “Winning
Isn’t Normal” has become widely associated with Dr. Bell’s printed material
and related goods and services. The WINNING ISN’T NORMAL® mark is
indicative to consumers that printed material and related items bearing the

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WINNING ISN’T NORMAL® mark originate from or are affiliated with,
sponsored, or approved by Dr. Bell.
Defendants’ Infringement of Dr. Bell’s Work
28.Defendant Jeffery Knarr is the individual connected with and responsible for
activity on the social media platform Twitter.com (“Twitter”) by the user
“@jeff_knarr.”
29.On or about November 6, 2015, a textual representation of page 8 of Winning
Isn't Normal was posted to the Twitter account of user “@jeff_knarr”. A copy
of the Twitter post is attached as Exhibit D.
30.The post was made without authorization from Dr. Bell and without attribution
to Dr. Bell.
31.Neither Defendant King’s College nor Defendant Jeffery Knarr contacted Dr.
Bell to request permission to use Dr. Bell’s copyrighted work.
32.As of November 14, 2015, the post had received 206 “Retweets” and 189
“Likes.” Due to the globally accessible nature of Twitter, the post was
accessible by Internet users across the world.
33.The post was a “retweet” of a post by NSU Baseball (@NSUBaseball32). The
@NSUBaseball32 Twitter handle is used by Northeastern State University’s
RiverHawks baseball team.
34.Dr. Bell sent a Cease and Desist letter to Northeastern State University (“NSU”)

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which was signed for by NSU on September 27, 2016. Shortly thereafter, NSU
removed the original post, automatically removing all retweets of the post. The
post was therefore accessible on @jeff_knarr’s Twitter page for at least 10
months and 21 days.
35.Defendant Jeffery Knarr is the Head Football Coach for Defendant King’s
College, and has held this position since February 11, 2010 (according to the
King’s College website at
http://www.kingscollegeathletics.com/coaches.aspx?rc=934, accessed on
August 31, 2017).
36.Upon information and belief, at all relevant times hereto, Coach Knarr was
employed by Defendant King’s College.
37.The official King’s College Twitter account (@KingsCollege_PA), the official
King’s College football program’s Twitter account (@KingsCollegeFB), and
Defendant Jeffery Knarr’s Twitter account (@jeff_knarr) refer to and “retweet”
each other’s posts.
38.Upon information and belief, King’s College failed to direct Jeffery Knarr to
remove the infringing post.
COUNT I – COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
39.Plaintiff incorporates and re-alleges all of the allegations contained in the
preceding paragraphs of this Complaint.

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40.Defendants have infringed Plaintiff’s registered copyright in Winning Isn’t
Normal in violation of Sections 106 and 501 of the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. §§
106 and 501.
41.Defendants’ acts of infringement are willful, intentional and purposeful, in
disregard of and with indifference to Plaintiff’s rights.
42.As a direct and proximate result of said infringement by Defendants, Plaintiff is
entitled to damages in an amount to be proven at trial.
43.Plaintiff is further entitled to his attorneys’ fees and full costs pursuant to 17
U.S.C. § 505 and otherwise according to law.
44.Plaintiff is informed and believes that unless enjoined and restrained by this
Court, Defendants will again infringe Plaintiff’s rights in the Infringed Work, to
the irreparable injury of Plaintiff.
COUNT II – FEDERAL TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT
45.As a cause of action and ground for relief, Plaintiff alleges that Defendants have
engaged in trademark infringement under Section 32(1) of the Lanham Act, 15
U.S.C. Section 1114(1), and incorporates and re-alleges all of the allegations
contained in the preceding paragraphs of this Complaint.
46.The “Winning Isn’t Normal” trademark is federally registered for use in relation
to the following goods: “Printed matter, namely, non-fiction publicatins,
namely, books, booklets, pamphlets, articles, manuals and posters in the field of

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sports, fitness, and competitive performance and psychology.” See the attached
trademark registration at Exhibit C.
47.The Defendants used Plaintiff’s trademark in the Twitter post without the
Plaintiff’s knowledge or permission, and without attribution to Plaintiff.
48.The Defendants included Plaintiff’s trademark twice in the Twitter post. The
first instance was as the title of the post, with the mark shown in letters which
were emphasized by being capitalized, bold, and underlined. The second
instance was at the end of the post, with the mark shown in letters which were
emphasized by being capitalized, bold, underlined, and followed by three
exclamation points.
49.The Twitter post lacked Plaintiff’s name, and some readers of the post are likely
to be confused so as to infer that the text shown in the post was originated by
either of the Defendants or by NSU Baseball, rather than by Plaintiff
50.Defendants have infringed the Plaintiff’s right to be identified and distinguished
from others through use of the trademark.
51.Defendants’ willful and deliberate acts described above have caused injury and
damages to Plaintiff and have caused injury to Plaintiff’s goodwill.
52.As a direct and proximate result of said infringement by Defendants, Plaintiff is
entitled to damages in an amount to be proven at trial.
53.Defendants have infringed Plaintiff’s registered trademark and therefore

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Plaintiff is entitled costs of suit pursuant to the Lanham Act at 15 U.S.C. §
1117.
COUNT III – PENNSYLVANIA COMMON LAW TRADEMARK
INFRINGEMENT AND UNFAIR COMPETITION
54.As a cause of action and ground for relief, Plaintiff alleges that Defendant has
engaged and continues to engage in common law trademark infringement and
unfair competition under Pennsylvania law. Plaintiff incorporates and re-alleges
all of the allegations contained in the preceding paragraphs of this Complaint.
55.The “Winning Isn’t Normal” trademark has been used by Plaintiff since at least
as early as 1978.
56.The trademark has been affixed to various goods, including books, posters, and
shirts.
57.The trademark has also been displayed prominently on the Keel Publications
website at http://keelpublications.com/. Keel Publications sells items related
to the “Winning Isn’t Normal” trademark and to the Infringing Work.
58.Dr. Bell derives revenue from sales of the goods related to the trademark, both
through one-time sales and through licenses.
59.At various times, Dr. Bell has licensed the use of text from his book Winning
Isn’t Normal for use in posters, books, and other uses by educational
institutions and sports organizations.

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60.The Defendants used Plaintiff’s trademark in the Twitter post without the
Plaintiff’s knowledge or permission, and without attribution to Plaintiff.
61.The Twitter post lacked Plaintiff’s name, and some readers of the post were
likely to be confused so as to infer that the text shown in the post was originated
by either of the Defendants or by NSU Baseball, rather than by Plaintiff,
thereby passing off the text as that of Defendants.
62.The Defendants included Plaintiff’s trademark twice in the Twitter post. The
first instance was as the title of the post, with the mark shown in letters which
were emphasized by being capitalized, bold, and underlined. The second
instance was at the end of the post, with the mark shown in letters which were
emphasized by being capitalized, bold, underlined, and followed by three
exclamation points.
63.Defendants have violated the Plaintiffs right to exclusive use of the trademark.
64.By failing to seek and obtain permission to use text from Plaintiff’s book,
“Winning Isn’t Normal”, Defendants have engaged in unfair competition by
passing off the text as theirs and obtained a windfall by using without
compensating Plaintiff for that which they were legally obligated to pay.
65.Defendants’ willful and deliberate acts described above have caused injury and
damages to Plaintiff and have caused injury to Plaintiff’s goodwill.
66.As a direct and proximate result of said acts by Defendants, Plaintiff is entitled

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to damages in an amount to be proven at trial.
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff prays that the Defendants be cited to appear and
answer herein; and that upon final hearing, a final judgment be entered that
Defendants have infringed Plaintiff’s exclusive rights in the Plaintiff’s copyright
and trademark under the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 101, et seq., under the
Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1051, et seq., and that Defendants have engaged in
common law unfair competition and trademark infringement under Pennsylvania
common law.
Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Gerry J. Elman
Gerry J. Elman (PA Bar #12437)
Elman Technology Law, P.C.
12 Veterans Square
Media, PA 19063
(610) 892-9942
Email: admin@elman.com
Attorney for Plaintiff Dr. Keith Bell
Dated: September 25, 2017

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