Fill Out The Form To Be Connected Instantly to the Patent Infringement Attorney Needed In Your Case!
Ready to talk to someone about an intellectual property matter in Chesterfield? The form above connects you directly, no need to read everything below first.
Your Chesterfield Intellectual Property Attorney
A patent, a trademark, a copyright, and a trade secret are four different things with four different sets of rules. For a Chesterfield business, artist, or inventor, the first step is knowing which one is actually involved, and this page walks through how to tell. You will find the quick answers first, then the definitions, deadlines, registration, the courts, state law, and the basic elements of infringement claims, with the statute behind each point. Talking with an attorney who works in the Eastern District of Missouri can turn these general rules into a plan for your matter.
The Short Answers: Deadlines, Courts, and Protection
- Patents belong in federal court. Federal district courts have original jurisdiction over patent claims (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)), and damages cannot reach back more than six years before the complaint (35 U.S.C. 286).
- Trademark claims can go to federal or state court (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)), and Missouri’s own registration is a separate filing with the Missouri Secretary of State.
- Copyright lawsuits have a three-year clock from when the claim accrued (17 U.S.C. 507(b)), and a United States work must be registered before an infringement suit can be filed (17 U.S.C. 411(a)).
- Missouri has its own trade secret statute, the Missouri Uniform Trade Secrets Act (RSMo 417.450 to 417.467), and the federal action in 18 U.S.C. 1836 sits alongside it.
- A federal case from Chesterfield goes to the Eastern District of Missouri (28 U.S.C. 105), which sits in Saint Louis, Hannibal, and Cape Girardeau.
The Four Main Areas of Intellectual Property Law
Inventions are the domain of patent law. The categories the statute names are processes, machines, manufactures, and compositions of matter (35 U.S.C. 101), and the patent term ends 20 years from the filing date of the application (35 U.S.C. 154(a)(2)).
Names, logos, and slogans that tell customers who is behind a product are trademarks, defined in 15 U.S.C. 1127 as any word, name, symbol, or device used to identify and distinguish a person’s goods and to indicate their source. A service mark does the same job for services.
Copyright protects original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression (17 U.S.C. 102(a)), such as literary, musical, dramatic, and pictorial works, motion pictures, sound recordings, and architectural works. It never extends to an idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery (17 U.S.C. 102(b)).
Business and technical information such as plans, formulas, and processes qualifies as a trade secret only if the owner has taken reasonable measures to keep it secret and it derives independent economic value from secrecy (18 U.S.C. 1839(3)).
How Long Do You Have to Bring a Claim?
Under 17 U.S.C. 507(b), a civil copyright action must be commenced within three years after the claim accrued, and under 17 U.S.C. 411(a) the copyright claim for a United States work must be registered, or registration refused, before that action is instituted.
Trade secret claims under federal law must be filed within three years of discovery, or of when reasonable diligence would have revealed the misappropriation, and continuing misappropriation is one claim (18 U.S.C. 1836(d)).
For patent damages, the look-back is six years from the complaint (35 U.S.C. 286), which is separate from the 20-year patent term measured from the filing date (35 U.S.C. 154(a)(2)).
State-law claims, such as a claim under the Missouri Uniform Trade Secrets Act (RSMo 417.450 to 417.467) or a state trademark claim, have their own rules on limitation periods and on when a claim begins to run. Those are set by Missouri statutes and court decisions, so the dates should be checked by an attorney rather than assumed from the federal deadlines.
Protecting your work in Chesterfield? Get matched with an attorney now.
Registration Steps for Trademarks and Copyrights
Federal trademark registration is available both to owners of a mark already used in commerce (15 U.S.C. 1051(a)(1)) and to a person with a bona fide intention, in good faith, to use a mark in commerce (15 U.S.C. 1051(b)(1)), through an application and a verified statement filed with the Patent and Trademark Office.
Missouri also has its own trademark registration. A state filing is made with the Missouri Secretary of State under RSMo 417.005 to 417.066, is separate from the federal register, and does not replace a federal application.
Copyright exists without a filing, but a lawsuit about a United States work requires preregistration or registration first (17 U.S.C. 411(a)). The standard term for a work created on or after January 1, 1978 is the life of the author and 70 years after the author’s death (17 U.S.C. 302(a)).
Inventors should keep the 20-year term measured from filing in mind (35 U.S.C. 154(a)(2)), and should confirm early with an attorney that the invention falls within 35 U.S.C. 101.
Federal and State Courts for Intellectual Property Claims
Federal law fixes the forum for most intellectual property claims: exclusive federal jurisdiction over patents and copyrights (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)), original federal jurisdiction over Defend Trade Secrets Act claims (18 U.S.C. 1836(c)), and concurrent state jurisdiction over trademarks.
Under 28 U.S.C. 105, Missouri’s counties are grouped into two federal districts. For St. Louis County, the court is the Eastern District of Missouri, and it holds court in Saint Louis, Hannibal, and Cape Girardeau.
Trade Secrets and Trademarks Under Missouri Law
A misappropriated trade secret can support a federal claim under 18 U.S.C. 1836(b) when it is connected to interstate or foreign commerce, and it may also support a claim under the Missouri Uniform Trade Secrets Act (RSMo 417.450 to 417.467). The state and federal claims are separate.
Trademark protection has a state layer as well. A state trademark registration in Missouri is filed with the Missouri Secretary of State under RSMo 417.005 to 417.066, and it is separate from federal registration on the principal register (15 U.S.C. 1051).
Which claims to bring, and in which court, is a strategy question for an attorney who can read the documents.
What Kinds of Intellectual Property Cases Come Up?
Patent Disputes
A patent claim asks whether the accused product or process is covered by the patent and whether the accused party acted without authority. The forms of infringement listed in 35 U.S.C. 271(a) are making, using, offering to sell, selling, and importing.
The patent term is 20 years from the filing date (35 U.S.C. 154(a)(2)), so a case about an expired patent is limited to past infringement.
Confusing Similarity and Brand Protection
For a registered mark, the core question is whether the defendant’s use of a reproduction, copy, counterfeit, or colorable imitation is likely to cause confusion, mistake, or deception in connection with goods or services (15 U.S.C. 1114(1)(a)).
Evidence such as first-use dates, sales records, and examples of actual confusion is easiest to gather before a dispute escalates.
Copyright Claims
Creative disputes involve two threshold points: the work must be an original work of authorship fixed in a tangible medium (17 U.S.C. 102(a)), and the claim cannot rest on an idea or system (17 U.S.C. 102(b)).
Federal district courts have original jurisdiction over copyright claims (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)).
Disputes Over Trade Secrets
The Defend Trade Secrets Act lets the owner of a misappropriated trade secret sue when the secret relates to a product or service in interstate or foreign commerce (18 U.S.C. 1836(b)(1)). Whether the information qualifies depends on the definition in 18 U.S.C. 1839(3).
A continuing misappropriation is treated as a single claim for the federal deadline (18 U.S.C. 1836(d)).
What a Successful Claim Can Recover
The patent statute provides for damages adequate to compensate for the infringement, not less than a reasonable royalty (35 U.S.C. 284), and for injunctions to prevent the violation of a patent right (35 U.S.C. 283).
Trademark: courts can grant injunctions according to the principles of equity to prevent the violation of the rights of a registrant or a violation of section 1125(a), (c), or (d) (15 U.S.C. 1116(a)), and when a violation is established the plaintiff is entitled, subject to the principles of equity, to recover the defendant’s profits, any damages sustained by the plaintiff, and the costs of the action (15 U.S.C. 1117(a)).
The copyright statute offers two routes to money relief: actual damages and profits (17 U.S.C. 504(b)) or statutory damages of not less than $750 or more than $30,000 for infringements of any one work (17 U.S.C. 504(c)(1)).
Delay in registering can cost more than time. Infringement that starts before the effective date of registration generally cannot support statutory damages or attorney’s fees, with the exception in 17 U.S.C. 412 for registration within three months after first publication.
The Defend Trade Secrets Act lists the remedies: an injunction, damages for actual loss and unjust enrichment (or a reasonable royalty), exemplary damages of not more than 2 times the damages for willful and malicious misappropriation, and attorney’s fees in the situations the statute names (18 U.S.C. 1836(b)(3)).
Protecting an idea, brand, or creative work in Chesterfield? Talk to an attorney about your deadlines.
Getting Your Records in Order
An attorney will usually begin with dates: creation, first disclosure, first use in commerce, first publication, and discovery of the problem. Gathering them ahead of time saves a first meeting for the questions that matter.
For a patent question, bring drawings, notes, prototypes, any patent or application numbers, and information about who has seen or used the invention. For a trademark, bring the name or logo, examples of how it is used, and any registration papers.
Copyright matters call for the original work, dated versions, registration papers, and side-by-side examples of the copying. Trade secret matters call for a description of the information, a list of who had access, and the confidentiality measures that existed.
Intellectual Property Matters in Chesterfield and St. Louis County
Chesterfield matters that reach federal court are heard in the Eastern District of Missouri. Knowing which court you will be in matters because deadlines such as the three-year copyright and trade secret limits run regardless of the court.
Injury claims follow different rules, covered on our Chesterfield personal injury attorney page. Intellectual property matters in the surrounding area are covered on our pages for Ballwin, Manchester, and Maryland Heights. The Missouri intellectual property index shows every city where we connect people with local attorneys.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as patent infringement?
Without authority, making, using, offering to sell, or selling a patented invention in the United States, or importing one into the United States, during the term of the patent (35 U.S.C. 271(a)).
What is trademark infringement?
For a registered mark, it is using in commerce a reproduction, counterfeit, copy, or colorable imitation in connection with goods or services where the use is likely to cause confusion, mistake, or deception (15 U.S.C. 1114(1)(a)).
Can I copyright an idea?
No. Copyright never extends to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery (17 U.S.C. 102(b)). It protects the original expression of an idea.
Can I sue in federal court over a stolen trade secret?
Yes, if the trade secret is related to a product or service used in, or intended for use in, interstate or foreign commerce (18 U.S.C. 1836(b)(1)). The federal district courts have original jurisdiction of these actions (18 U.S.C. 1836(c)).
Are trade secret cases filed in federal court?
A federal trade secret action under 18 U.S.C. 1836 is filed in federal district court (18 U.S.C. 1836(c)), and Missouri state-law claims are separate claims.
Can I bring both federal and Missouri claims?
Often yes. A dispute can involve federal claims, such as under 15 U.S.C. 1114 or 18 U.S.C. 1836, and state-law claims under Missouri law. An attorney can advise which to bring.
Is there a deadline to sue for patent infringement?
Patent damages reach back six years before the complaint (35 U.S.C. 286), so delay can reduce recovery even while the patent is in force.
Can I protect software or written material?
Written material and other original expression fixed in a tangible medium can be protected by copyright (17 U.S.C. 102(a)), but not the underlying ideas, procedures, or methods of operation (17 U.S.C. 102(b)).
Take the Next Step in Your Chesterfield Intellectual Property Matter
Questions about a patent, a trademark filing, a copyright registration, or a trade secret are exactly what an initial conversation is for. Use the form to get matched with an attorney who can answer them for your case.
