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Your Denton Intellectual Property Attorney
Ideas, brands, and creative work are only as protected as the steps taken to secure them and the speed of the response when someone copies them. If your business or work is based in Denton, the federal and Texas rules on patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets are written down, and knowing them early helps. 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. An attorney who handles intellectual property matters can tell you which of these rules apply to your situation.
Deadlines and Courts: The Short Version
- Patent term and damages: a patent lasts 20 years from the filing date of the application (35 U.S.C. 154(a)(2)), and no recovery can be had for infringement more than six years before the complaint (35 U.S.C. 286).
- Trademarks can be registered federally and in Texas. The federal register is set up by 15 U.S.C. 1051, and state registration is filed with the Texas Secretary of State under Chapter 16 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code.
- 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)).
- A federal case from Denton goes to the Eastern District of Texas (28 U.S.C. 124), which sits in places including Tyler, Beaumont, Sherman, Plano, Marshall, Texarkana, and Lufkin.
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, and Trade Secrets Compared
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.
For creative work, copyright arises in original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression (17 U.S.C. 102(a)). The limit in 17 U.S.C. 102(b) means the underlying idea or method is not protected even when the way it is expressed is.
Trade secret protection depends on two things: the owner took reasonable measures to keep the information secret, and the information has independent economic value because it is not generally known or readily ascertainable (18 U.S.C. 1839(3)). Formulas, methods, processes, programs, and codes can all qualify.
Time Limits That Matter in Patent, Copyright, and Trade Secret Cases
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)).
Patent infringement damages reach back at most six years before the complaint (35 U.S.C. 286), so a suspected infringement is worth reviewing promptly.
Do not assume that a state-law claim follows the federal deadlines. Texas’s limitation periods and the point when a claim accrues are matters of Texas statutes and case law, and an attorney can check the dates for your particular claim.
Protecting your work in Denton? Get matched with an attorney now.
Registering and Protecting Your Rights
The Lanham Act sets two routes to the principal register: use in commerce (15 U.S.C. 1051(a)(1)) and a bona fide intention to use (15 U.S.C. 1051(b)(1)). Each requires an application, a verified statement, and the prescribed fee.
Federal registration is not the only route. Texas’s trademark registration provisions, Chapter 16 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code, provide for a state filing with the Texas Secretary of State that operates separately from the federal register.
A copyright owner cannot file an infringement action on a United States work before registration has been made (17 U.S.C. 411(a)), although a refusal of registration can also open the door to suit if the Register of Copyrights is notified and served with the complaint.
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.
The Federal Court for Denton County
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.
The federal court for Denton is the Eastern District of Texas. The statute sets the district by county (28 U.S.C. 124), and that court holds court in places including Tyler, Beaumont, Sherman, Plano, Marshall, Texarkana, and Lufkin.
Trade Secrets and Trademarks Under Texas Law
Trade secret claims are not only federal. The Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 134A.001 to 134A.008) may apply to the same facts, and the federal statute provides its own civil action when the secret relates to a product or service used in, or intended for use in, interstate or foreign commerce (18 U.S.C. 1836(b)(1)).
A brand owner in Denton may have state-law options in addition to federal ones. Texas’s trademark registration provisions are found in Chapter 16 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code, and the filing office is the Texas Secretary of State.
Which claims to bring, and in which court, is a strategy question for an attorney who can read the documents.
Common Intellectual Property Claims
Using an Invention Without Permission
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)).
Damages are limited to infringement within the six years before the complaint (35 U.S.C. 286).
Disputes Over Names, Logos, and Brands
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.
Evidence such as first-use dates, sales records, and examples of actual confusion is easiest to gather before a dispute escalates.
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)).
Keeping dated copies of drafts and finished work helps show what was created and when.
Trade Secret Claims
Trade secret cases often turn on whether the owner took reasonable measures to keep the information secret and whether it has independent economic value from not being generally known, the two elements of 18 U.S.C. 1839(3).
Documents showing who had access, and what confidentiality steps existed, are among the first things to preserve.
Injunctions and Money Damages by Type of Claim
For patents, 35 U.S.C. 284 sets the damages floor at a reasonable royalty and lets the court increase damages up to three times the amount found or assessed, and 35 U.S.C. 283 allows injunctions according to the principles of equity, on terms the court considers reasonable.
For trademark violations, the Lanham Act allows injunctions on terms the court considers reasonable (15 U.S.C. 1116(a)) and allows recovery, subject to equity, of the defendant’s profits, the plaintiff’s damages, 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)).
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).
In federal trade secret cases the court can enjoin actual or threatened misappropriation, award damages for loss and unjust enrichment or a reasonable royalty, and, for willful and malicious misappropriation, exemplary damages up to 2 times the damages awarded (18 U.S.C. 1836(b)(3)).
Was your work copied or your brand used without permission? Talk to an attorney in Denton County.
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.
For a copyright question, bring the work, dated drafts, any registration papers, and examples of the copying. For a trade secret question, bring a description of the information, who had access, and what confidentiality steps were in place, such as agreements and access controls.
Intellectual Property Matters in Denton and Denton County
The rules on this page are national or statewide, but the practical details are local. For a Denton claim that means Denton County and the Eastern District of Texas. Asking an attorney how long cases usually take there helps put the deadlines in context.
The Texas intellectual property index shows every city where we connect people with local attorneys. We also match people with intellectual property attorneys in Lewisville, Frisco, and Carrollton. Hurt in an accident rather than dealing with a patent, trademark, or copyright issue? Read our Denton personal injury page.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far back can I recover damages for patent infringement?
Six years before the complaint. No recovery may be had for infringement committed more than six years before the filing of the complaint (35 U.S.C. 286).
Can I register a trademark before I start using it?
Yes, in one way: a person with a bona fide intention, under circumstances showing good faith, to use a trademark in commerce may request registration on the principal register (15 U.S.C. 1051(b)(1)).
Do I have to register a copyright before I sue?
For a United States work, yes. No civil action for infringement of the copyright may be instituted until preregistration or registration of the copyright claim has been made (17 U.S.C. 411(a)), with a provision for cases where registration was refused.
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.
Which federal court covers Denton?
The Eastern District of Texas (28 U.S.C. 124).
Can I register a trademark with the state of Texas?
Yes. A state registration is filed with the Texas Secretary of State under Chapter 16 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code, and it is a separate filing from the federal application.
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.
Get Started With an Attorney in Denton
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.
