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 Montgomery? The form above connects you directly, no need to read everything below first.
Your Montgomery Intellectual Property Attorney
Intellectual property law splits into four main areas, patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets, and each has its own rules on where a case is filed and how long you have. The sections below explain those rules for a matter arising in Montgomery. 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 Middle District of Alabama can turn these general rules into a plan for your matter.
Your Key Federal and Alabama Rules in One Place
- 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).
- Even an unregistered mark can be protected against false designation of origin, through a civil action by anyone who believes they are likely to be damaged (15 U.S.C. 1125(a)(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.
- Trade secrets get a federal 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)), filed in federal district court (18 U.S.C. 1836(c)).
- Where is my case filed? Montgomery is in the Middle District of Alabama, and that court holds court in Montgomery, Dothan, and Opelika (28 U.S.C. 81).
The Four Main Areas of Intellectual Property Law
A patent protects an invention. Whoever invents or discovers a new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter may obtain a patent, subject to the conditions and requirements of the patent statute (35 U.S.C. 101). The term is 20 years from the date the application was filed (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.
A copyright question begins with whether the work is an original work of authorship fixed in a tangible medium (17 U.S.C. 102(a)) and whether what was copied was expression rather than an idea, system, or method (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)).
Why Timing Matters in Intellectual Property Disputes
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)).
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)).
Claims under Alabama law carry their own limitation periods and their own rules for when the clock starts, which are different questions from the federal deadlines in this section. Have the dates checked before relying on any of them.
Protecting your work in Montgomery? Get matched with an attorney now.
Federal and Alabama Trademark Registration
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.
In addition to the federal register, a business in Alabama can file for a state trademark registration with the Alabama Secretary of State (see Chapter 12 of Title 8 of the Code of Alabama). The state filing is a separate process from the federal application.
Registering a copyright before there is a dispute avoids a delay later. The statute says no civil action for infringement of the copyright in a United States work may be instituted until preregistration or registration has been made (17 U.S.C. 411(a)).
The application date controls the length of patent protection, which ends 20 years after filing (35 U.S.C. 154(a)(2)), so planning the filing is part of protecting the invention.
Where an Intellectual Property Case From Montgomery Is Filed
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.
By statute the state has three federal districts, known as the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Alabama (28 U.S.C. 81). A federal case from Montgomery is filed in the Middle District of Alabama, where court is held at Montgomery, Dothan, and Opelika.
Trade Secrets and Trademarks Under Alabama Law
Owners of confidential information in Montgomery can look to two sources: the Alabama Trade Secrets Act (Ala. Code 8-27-1 to 8-27-6) 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)).
Beyond the federal Lanham Act, a brand owner in Montgomery can look to Alabama’s own trademark registration system. Filings are made with the Alabama Secretary of State under Chapter 12 of Title 8 of the Code of Alabama, and a state filing does not replace a federal application.
Which claims to bring, and in which court, is a strategy question for an attorney who can read the documents.
Common Intellectual Property Claims
Patent Disputes
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.
Because the six-year damages limit in 35 U.S.C. 286 runs back from the complaint, delay can reduce what is recoverable.
Disputes Over Names, Logos, and Brands
Two federal provisions do most of the work in trademark cases: 15 U.S.C. 1114(1)(a) for registered marks and 15 U.S.C. 1125(a)(1) for misleading uses of any word, term, name, symbol, or device, registered or not.
Evidence such as first-use dates, sales records, and examples of actual confusion is easiest to gather before a dispute escalates.
Copying of Creative Work
For writing, images, music, or film, copyright protects the original expression fixed in a tangible medium (17 U.S.C. 102(a)) but never the underlying idea (17 U.S.C. 102(b)).
Federal district courts have original jurisdiction over copyright claims (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)).
Confidential Information and Departing Employees
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).
The trademark remedies are set out in 15 U.S.C. 1116(a), which gives courts the power to grant injunctions, and 15 U.S.C. 1117(a), which lets a plaintiff recover defendant’s profits, damages, and costs once a violation is established.
Copyright damages can be measured by the owner’s actual damages and the infringer’s attributable profits (17 U.S.C. 504(b)), or by statutory damages between $750 and $30,000 per work as the court considers just (17 U.S.C. 504(c)(1)).
The registration date can decide whether statutory damages and attorney’s fees are available at all. Section 412 of the copyright statute bars them for infringement commenced before registration, subject to a three-month window after first publication.
For a misappropriated trade secret, 18 U.S.C. 1836(b)(3) authorizes an injunction against actual or threatened misappropriation, damages for actual loss and unjust enrichment or a reasonable royalty, exemplary damages up to 2 times for willful and malicious misappropriation, and reasonable attorney’s fees to the prevailing party in stated situations.
Facing an infringement dispute in Montgomery? Find out where your matter stands.
Documents and Dates That Help
Bring a simple chronology. When was the work created, when was it first shared or sold, and when did you first notice the copying or use? Many of the deadlines on this page run from those events.
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.
Montgomery: Courts, Counties, and Getting Started
Montgomery matters that reach federal court are heard in the Middle District of Alabama. 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.
Hurt in an accident rather than dealing with a patent, trademark, or copyright issue? Read our Montgomery personal injury page. We also match people with intellectual property attorneys in Prattville, Clanton, and Greenville. See where else we help people across Alabama in our Alabama intellectual property guide.
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)).
What kinds of work does copyright cover?
Original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression (17 U.S.C. 102(a)), including literary, musical, dramatic, and pictorial works, motion pictures, sound recordings, and architectural works.
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 Alabama state-law claims are separate claims.
Can I register a trademark with the state of Alabama?
Yes. A state registration is filed with the Alabama Secretary of State under Chapter 12 of Title 8 of the Code of Alabama, and it is a separate filing from the federal application.
When does the trade secret clock start?
From the date the misappropriation is discovered or, by reasonable diligence, should have been discovered (18 U.S.C. 1836(d)).
Can I protect a logo or slogan?
A word, name, symbol, or device used to identify and distinguish goods or services and indicate their source can be a trademark or service mark (15 U.S.C. 1127).
Talk to an Attorney About Your Montgomery Matter
If you are unsure where to start, the form above is the simplest first step. It connects you with an attorney who can explain your options in Montgomery and what the next few weeks may involve.
