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Your Wichita Falls Intellectual Property Attorney
If you are trying to protect an invention, a brand, or a creative work in Wichita Falls, 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. The sections that follow cover what patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets protect, the filing deadlines, registration, the federal courts for Wichita County, Texas’s own trademark and trade secret rules, and what an infringement claim involves. 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
- A patent case is a federal case. The district courts have original jurisdiction of any civil action arising under an Act of Congress relating to patents (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)), and infringement damages are limited to the six years before the complaint (35 U.S.C. 286).
- 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)).
- How long does a copyright last? For works created on or after January 1, 1978, the life of the author plus 70 years (17 U.S.C. 302(a)), with different counts for joint works and works made for hire.
- The trade secret clock runs from discovery: three years from when the misappropriation was, or with reasonable diligence should have been, discovered (18 U.S.C. 1836(d)).
- Federal district: for Wichita County, the Northern District of Texas under 28 U.S.C. 124, holding court in Dallas, Fort Worth, Abilene, San Angelo, Amarillo, Wichita Falls, and Lubbock.
What Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, and Trade Secrets Protect
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)).
A trademark identifies and distinguishes goods and their source. The statute defines it as any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination, used by a person, or which a person has a bona fide intention to use in commerce and applies to register, to identify and distinguish that person’s goods from those manufactured or sold by others and to indicate the source (15 U.S.C. 1127). A service mark does the same 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)).
Unlike a patent, a trade secret is kept private. The federal definition requires reasonable secrecy measures and independent economic value from not being generally known or readily ascertainable through proper means (18 U.S.C. 1839(3)).
Why Timing Matters in Intellectual Property Disputes
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.
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)).
Patents: there is no recovery for infringement committed more than six years before the filing of the complaint or counterclaim for infringement (35 U.S.C. 286). Waiting can therefore shrink the damages available even when the patent itself is still in force.
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.
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Registering and Protecting Your Rights
A business planning a brand can file for federal registration based on actual use in commerce (15 U.S.C. 1051(a)(1)) or based on a bona fide intention to use it (15 U.S.C. 1051(b)(1)).
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.
For copyright, protection attaches to original works fixed in a tangible medium (17 U.S.C. 102(a)), but before an infringement suit on a United States work can be instituted, preregistration or registration of the copyright claim must have been made (17 U.S.C. 411(a)). A work created on or after January 1, 1978 lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years (17 U.S.C. 302(a)).
For an invention, the patent term of 20 years runs from the date the application was filed (35 U.S.C. 154(a)(2)), so the timing of an application is worth discussing with a patent attorney.
Federal District Courts and Where They Sit
In practice, patent and copyright disputes are filed in federal district court (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)), federal trade secret claims start there as well (18 U.S.C. 1836(c)), and a trademark dispute can be filed in federal or state court.
The federal court for Wichita Falls is the Northern District of Texas. The statute sets the district by county (28 U.S.C. 124), and that court holds court in Dallas, Fort Worth, Abilene, San Angelo, Amarillo, Wichita Falls, and Lubbock.
How Texas Law Fits In
Owners of confidential information in Wichita Falls can look to two sources: the Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 134A.001 to 134A.008) and the federal action in 18 U.S.C. 1836(b), which requires a connection to interstate or foreign commerce and has its own three-year deadline (18 U.S.C. 1836(d)).
A brand owner in Wichita Falls 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.
The details of a state-law claim depend on the facts, and an attorney can explain which of the federal and state claims fit a particular dispute.
The Basics of Each Type of Claim
Using an Invention Without Permission
Whether conduct is infringement is measured against 35 U.S.C. 271(a), which reaches anyone who, without authority, makes, uses, offers to sell, or sells a patented invention in the United States or imports it during the patent’s term.
Both patent owners and people accused of infringing should collect the patent number, product samples, and dates early.
Confusing Similarity and Brand Protection
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 state registration in Texas (Chapter 16 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code) is different from federal registration on the principal register (15 U.S.C. 1051).
Copyright Claims
A copyright claim starts with an original work of authorship fixed in a tangible medium (17 U.S.C. 102(a)), and it is limited to expression: the idea, procedure, process, system, or method of operation is not protected (17 U.S.C. 102(b)).
Federal district courts have original jurisdiction over copyright claims (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)).
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).
A continuing misappropriation is treated as a single claim for the federal deadline (18 U.S.C. 1836(d)).
Damages, Injunctions, and Other Relief
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)).
A copyright owner can choose between actual damages plus the infringer’s profits attributable to the infringement, and statutory damages (17 U.S.C. 504(a), (b)), and statutory damages range from $750 to $30,000 per work as the court 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).
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 Wichita County.
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.
Patent matters go faster with drawings, lab notes, patent or application numbers, and a list of who has seen the invention. Trademark matters go faster with the mark itself, samples of its use, and any registration documents.
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.
Intellectual Property Matters in Wichita Falls and Wichita County
If you are protecting or defending intellectual property in Wichita Falls, a case that belongs in federal court is filed in the Northern District of Texas. An attorney who works in that court regularly can explain how its schedule and practices affect the deadlines above.
Injury claims follow different rules, covered on our Texas personal injury attorney page. Nearby communities we serve include Weatherford, Denton, and Fort Worth. Our Texas intellectual property resource collects the state-level rules and links to each city page.
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)).
Can I register my business name or logo as a trademark?
A word, name, symbol, or device used to identify and distinguish goods and indicate their source is a trademark (15 U.S.C. 1127), and the owner of a mark used in commerce may request federal registration (15 U.S.C. 1051(a)(1)).
Which court hears a copyright case from Wichita Falls?
The federal district courts have original jurisdiction over copyright claims (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)). For Wichita Falls, that is the Northern District of Texas.
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 Texas have?
Texas has four federal judicial districts: the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas (28 U.S.C. 124).
Do federal deadlines apply to Texas state-law claims?
Not automatically. Texas state-law claims have their own limitation periods and accrual rules, set by Texas statutes and court decisions, and an attorney should check them.
What are the main deadlines in intellectual property cases?
Copyright: three years from accrual (17 U.S.C. 507(b)). Federal trade secrets: three years from discovery (18 U.S.C. 1836(d)). Patent damages: no recovery for infringement more than six years before the complaint (35 U.S.C. 286).
What should I do if someone copies my work?
Note the dates, keep copies, and speak with an attorney early, since deadlines such as three years for copyright (17 U.S.C. 507(b)) and six years of look-back for patent damages (35 U.S.C. 286) run from the events.
Take the Next Step in Your Wichita Falls Intellectual Property Matter
An intellectual property matter is easier to handle with someone reading the documents alongside you. Submit the form to be connected with an attorney who can go over your work, the deadlines, and the court for Wichita County.
