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Your Alton Intellectual Property Attorney
If you are trying to protect an invention, a brand, or a creative work in Alton, or you have been accused of infringing someone else’s, you probably want plain answers about deadlines, courts, and what each kind of protection covers. Federal statutes set most of them, so many answers can be checked. Below you will find the key deadlines at a glance, what each type of protection covers, the steps that come before a lawsuit, which federal court hears a case from Belknap County, and how New Hampshire law fits alongside federal law. Deadlines in intellectual property cases run on fixed dates, so learning them early usually helps more than trying to catch up later.
Deadlines and Courts: The Short Version
- Who can be liable for patent infringement? Anyone who, without authority, makes, uses, offers to sell, or sells a patented invention in the United States, or imports it (35 U.S.C. 271(a)).
- Federal trademark registration is available to the owner of a mark used in commerce or to a person with a bona fide intention to use one (15 U.S.C. 1051(a)(1), (b)(1)).
- Register first, sue second. No civil action for infringement of the copyright in a United States work can be instituted until registration has been made or refused in the way the statute provides (17 U.S.C. 411(a)).
- Federal trade secret claims must be brought within 3 years after the misappropriation is discovered or should have been discovered with reasonable diligence (18 U.S.C. 1836(d)).
- The federal court for Alton is the District of New Hampshire, with court held at Concord and Littleton (28 U.S.C. 109).
Which Type of Protection Fits Your Situation
If you have made something new and useful, such as a device, a process, a manufactured article, or a composition, a patent is the tool the statute provides (35 U.S.C. 101). The grant runs from issuance to 20 years after the application was filed (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.
Writing, music, images, film, software text, and similar creative work are the subject of copyright, which subsists in original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium (17 U.S.C. 102(a)). The statute is equally clear about what is excluded: ideas, procedures, processes, systems, methods of operation, concepts, principles, and discoveries (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?
For copyright infringement, the statute sets three years from when the claim accrued (17 U.S.C. 507(b)), and registration or a refusal of registration must come before suit on a United States work (17 U.S.C. 411(a)).
Discovery drives the trade secret clock. A civil action under 18 U.S.C. 1836(b) may not be commenced later than three years after the misappropriation is, or by reasonable diligence should be, discovered (18 U.S.C. 1836(d)).
A patent owner who waits loses damages: under 35 U.S.C. 286, no recovery may be had for infringement committed more than six years before the complaint. The patent itself lasts 20 years from filing (35 U.S.C. 154(a)(2)).
A New Hampshire state-law claim brings its own deadline and its own accrual rule. Both come from New Hampshire statutes and court decisions and should be reviewed by an attorney at the start of the matter.
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What to Do Before a Dispute Starts
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.
Federal registration is not the only route. New Hampshire’s trademark registration provisions, the Model State Trademark Act, RSA chapter 350-A, provide for a state filing with the New Hampshire Secretary of State that operates separately from the federal register.
Owners of creative work should know that registration is a precondition to suing on a United States work (17 U.S.C. 411(a)), and that the duration for most later works is the life of the author plus 70 years (17 U.S.C. 302(a)).
The filing date is what starts the patent clock (35 U.S.C. 154(a)(2)), so the timing of an application matters. An attorney can advise whether the invention fits the categories in 35 U.S.C. 101.
Which Court Handles a Claim From Alton
Under 28 U.S.C. 1338(a), the federal district courts have original jurisdiction over patent, plant variety protection, copyright, and trademark claims, and that jurisdiction is exclusive for patents, plant variety protection, and copyrights. A trademark claim can also be brought in state court.
There is only one federal district in New Hampshire. The District of New Hampshire hears federal cases from Belknap County and holds court in Concord and Littleton (28 U.S.C. 109).
How New Hampshire Law Fits In
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 Uniform Trade Secrets Act (RSA 350-B:1 to 350-B:9). The state and federal claims are separate.
A state trademark registration in New Hampshire is a different filing from federal registration (15 U.S.C. 1051). It is made with the New Hampshire Secretary of State under the Model State Trademark Act, RSA chapter 350-A.
A lawyer can compare the federal and state routes for your situation and explain the tradeoffs.
Types of Intellectual Property Claims
Patent Disputes
Infringement occurs when someone, without authority, makes, uses, offers to sell, or sells any patented invention within the United States, or imports a patented invention into the United States, during the term of the patent (35 U.S.C. 271(a)).
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.
Trademark Claims
Even without registration, the Lanham Act allows a civil action against anyone who uses in commerce a word, term, name, symbol, or device likely to cause confusion or deceive about affiliation, connection, or origin (15 U.S.C. 1125(a)(1)), brought by a person who believes he or she is or is likely to be damaged.
A person who believes he or she is or is likely to be damaged can bring the civil action under 15 U.S.C. 1125(a)(1).
Disputes Over Writing, Images, Music, and Film
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)).
Protecting Confidential Business Information
A federal trade secret claim requires a trade secret related to a product or service used in, or intended for use in, interstate or foreign commerce (18 U.S.C. 1836(b)(1)), and the information must meet the definition of a trade secret in 18 U.S.C. 1839(3): reasonable secrecy measures and independent economic value.
The federal action has a three-year deadline running from discovery, or from when reasonable diligence should have led to discovery (18 U.S.C. 1836(d)).
Damages, Injunctions, and Other Relief
Patent: a court that finds for the claimant shall award damages adequate to compensate for the infringement, but in no event less than a reasonable royalty for the use made of the invention, together with interest and costs, and the court may increase the damages up to three times the amount found or assessed (35 U.S.C. 284). Courts may also grant injunctions in accordance with the principles of equity 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)).
Copyright: an infringer is liable for either the copyright owner’s actual damages and any additional profits of the infringer, or statutory damages (17 U.S.C. 504(a)). For statutory damages, the court may award a sum of not less than $750 or more than $30,000 per work as it considers just (17 U.S.C. 504(c)(1)).
Registering early matters for remedies as well as for suing: statutory damages and attorney’s fees are barred for infringement that began before registration, except when a published work is registered within three months after first publication (17 U.S.C. 412).
Trade secrets: under the federal statute a court may grant an injunction to prevent actual or threatened misappropriation, award damages for actual loss and for unjust enrichment, or impose liability for a reasonable royalty, and if the misappropriation was willful and malicious, award exemplary damages of not more than 2 times the damages awarded, and attorney’s fees in stated circumstances (18 U.S.C. 1836(b)(3)).
Facing an infringement dispute in Alton? Find out where your matter stands.
What to Gather Before You Talk to an Attorney
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.
Inventors should collect drawings, notes, and application numbers, and brand owners should collect the mark, examples of use, and any registration papers, before the first conversation.
Creators should bring the work itself, dated drafts, and examples of the copy. Owners of confidential information should bring a description of it, a list of who had access, and the steps taken to keep it secret.
Alton: Courts, Counties, and Getting Started
The rules on this page are national or statewide, but the practical details are local. For an Alton claim that means Belknap County and the District of New Hampshire. Asking an attorney how long cases usually take there helps put the deadlines in context.
Our New Hampshire intellectual property hub brings together the state’s rules and every city page in one place. We connect people in Farmington, Gilford, and Sanbornville with local attorneys as well. Injury claims follow different rules, covered on our Alton personal injury attorney page.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a patent last?
A patent lasts 20 years from the date the application was filed in the United States (35 U.S.C. 154(a)(2)), so the filing date, not the issue date, sets the end of the term.
What is the difference between federal and New Hampshire trademark registration?
Federal registration is on the principal register through the Patent and Trademark Office (15 U.S.C. 1051). New Hampshire registration is a separate filing made with the New Hampshire Secretary of State under the Model State Trademark Act, RSA chapter 350-A, and it does not replace the federal one.
How long does a copyright last?
For a work created on or after January 1, 1978, the life of the author and 70 years after the author’s death (17 U.S.C. 302(a)), with different rules for joint works, anonymous and pseudonymous works, and works made for hire.
What if a former employee took confidential information?
That can be a trade secret claim if the information meets the definition in 18 U.S.C. 1839(3), and the federal deadline is three years from discovery (18 U.S.C. 1836(d)). An attorney can review what was taken and what protections were in place.
How many federal districts does New Hampshire have?
New Hampshire has one federal judicial district: the District of New Hampshire (28 U.S.C. 109).
Do federal deadlines apply to New Hampshire state-law claims?
Not automatically. New Hampshire state-law claims have their own limitation periods and accrual rules, set by New Hampshire statutes and court decisions, and an attorney should check them.
Do deadlines differ for different kinds of intellectual property?
Yes. Copyright and federal trade secret claims each have a three-year period, measured differently (17 U.S.C. 507(b); 18 U.S.C. 1836(d)), and patent damages are limited to six years before the complaint (35 U.S.C. 286).
How do I keep information as a trade secret?
Take reasonable measures to keep it secret, because that is one of the two elements of the definition (18 U.S.C. 1839(3)), and consult an attorney about what measures are reasonable for your business.
Talk to an Attorney About Your Alton Matter
You do not have to work out the dates and rules alone. Fill out the form, and you will be connected with an attorney who can review your situation, the deadlines, and what a claim or filing may involve.
