from www.bloomberg.com – Adidas AG, Eli Lilly, ITV-Apple, Playboy, Adult Quest and more than 25 other defendants were sued by a Texas patent-owner.

Quark Images LLC of Longview, Texas, claims its two patents for a method of creating customized branded merchandise over a computer network are infringed.

Most of the defendants offer custom created merchandise such as Mars Inc.’s M&M candies on which customers can have any message or photo printed, or Nike Inc. which offers custom- designed athletic shoes through its NikeID program. Serverside Group Ltd. of New York was sued for allegedly selling software that enables the creation of branded and customized credit cards.

Among the other defendants are Zion Bancorporation, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, and Hallmark Cards Inc.

In dispute are patents 6,493,677 and 6,845,365, which were issued in December 2002 and January 2005, respectively.

Both patents were originally issued to Jones Soda Co., a Seattle-based company that permits customers to order fruit- flavored soft-drink personalized labels for $16.99 per six-pack. In a 2010 regulatory filing, the company said it intended “to explore potential licensing arrangements with third parties to commercialize this patented methodology and defend against patent violations.”

Quark Images asked the court to bar the defendants from future infringement of the patents, and awards of money damages, attorney fees and litigation costs.

The company is represented by Andrew W. Spangler of Spangler Law PC, and Gregory P. Love, Scott E. Stevens, Darrell G. Dotson and Todd Y. Brandt of Stevens Love, all of Longview, Texas.

The case is Quark Images LLC v. Adidas AG,2:10-cv-00293, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas (Marshall).