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 Unalaska? The form above connects you directly, no need to read everything below first.
Your Unalaska Intellectual Property Attorney
A patent, a trademark, a copyright, and a trade secret are four different things with four different sets of rules. For an Unalaska business, artist, or inventor, the first step is knowing which one is actually involved, and this page walks through how to tell. 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 Aleutians West Census Area, and how Alaska law fits alongside federal law. These rules apply across Alaska, and an attorney familiar with the District of Alaska can explain what to expect there.
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 Alaska’s own registration is a separate filing with the Alaska Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing.
- 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)).
- The federal court for Unalaska is the District of Alaska, with court held at Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Nome (28 U.S.C. 81A).
Four Kinds of Intellectual Property and What Each Covers
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)).
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 expression, not ideas. The subject matter is original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium (17 U.S.C. 102(a)), and protection does not extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, or method of operation, however it is described (17 U.S.C. 102(b)).
If the valuable thing is confidential know-how, the question is trade secret. Both elements in 18 U.S.C. 1839(3) must be present: reasonable measures to keep the information secret, and independent economic value from its not being generally known.
Time Limits That Matter in Patent, Copyright, and Trade Secret Cases
The copyright deadline is three years after the claim accrued (17 U.S.C. 507(b)). An owner who has not registered should treat registration as part of the first steps, since no infringement action on a United States work can be instituted before it (17 U.S.C. 411(a)).
Trade secrets: a federal action under the Defend Trade Secrets Act may not be commenced later than 3 years after the misappropriation is discovered or, with reasonable diligence, should have been discovered, and a continuing misappropriation counts as a single claim (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.
State-law claims, such as a claim under the Alaska Uniform Trade Secrets Act (Article 8 of AS chapter 45.50) or a state trademark claim, have their own rules on limitation periods and on when a claim begins to run. Those are set by Alaska statutes and court decisions, so the dates should be checked by an attorney rather than assumed from the federal deadlines.
Protecting your work in Unalaska? Get matched with an attorney now.
Registering and Protecting Your Rights
Registration on the federal principal register begins with an application and verified statement. The statute allows the owner of a mark used in commerce to apply (15 U.S.C. 1051(a)(1)) and separately a person with a bona fide intention to use (15 U.S.C. 1051(b)(1)).
State registration is a different filing from a federal application. In Alaska it is made with the Alaska Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing under AS 45.50.010 and following sections, and an attorney can tell you whether a state filing, a federal filing, or both suit your plans.
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)).
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.
Where an Intellectual Property Case From Unalaska 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.
Under 28 U.S.C. 81A, Alaska is one federal judicial district, and Aleutians West Census Area is part of it. The District of Alaska holds court in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Nome.
State-Law Rules for Trademarks and Trade Secrets
Owners of confidential information in Unalaska can look to two sources: the Alaska Uniform Trade Secrets Act (Article 8 of AS chapter 45.50) 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 Unalaska can look to Alaska’s own trademark registration system. Filings are made with the Alaska Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing under AS 45.50.010 and following sections, and a state filing does not replace a federal application.
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 Claims Behind Most Intellectual Property Disputes
Claims That a Patent Is Being Infringed
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.
Because the six-year damages limit in 35 U.S.C. 286 runs back from the complaint, delay can reduce what is recoverable.
Trademark Claims
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.
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).
Copying of Creative Work
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)).
Trade Secret Misappropriation
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).
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)).
Remedies in Intellectual Property Cases
Relief in a patent case can include damages of at least a reasonable royalty with interest and costs, and enhancement up to three times in the court’s discretion (35 U.S.C. 284), and an injunction on reasonable terms under the principles of equity (35 U.S.C. 283).
In trademark cases, courts have the power to enjoin violations (15 U.S.C. 1116(a)), and a plaintiff who establishes a violation may recover profits, damages, and costs, subject to sections 1111 and 1114 and the principles of equity (15 U.S.C. 1117(a)).
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)).
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.
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 Aleutians West Census Area.
Getting Your Records in Order
Write down a short timeline before the call: when the work or invention was made, when it was first shown to anyone, and when you learned of the problem. The federal deadlines above are measured from dates like these.
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.
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.
Local Court Details for Unalaska
If you are protecting or defending intellectual property in Unalaska, a case that belongs in federal court is filed in the District of Alaska. An attorney who works in that court regularly can explain how its schedule and practices affect the deadlines above.
Every Alaska city we cover is listed on our Alaska intellectual property attorney page. People in this part of the state also look to our pages for Sand Point, Chignik, and Togiak. Hurt in an accident rather than dealing with a patent, trademark, or copyright issue? Read our Unalaska personal injury page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a patent case be brought in Alaska state court?
No. Patent claims are within the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal district courts (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)), so a case from Unalaska is filed in the District of Alaska.
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)).
How long do I have to sue for copyright infringement?
A civil action must be commenced within three years after the claim accrued (17 U.S.C. 507(b)).
Does Alaska have a trade secret statute?
Yes. It is the Alaska Uniform Trade Secrets Act (Article 8 of AS chapter 45.50). The federal Defend Trade Secrets Act provides a separate civil action (18 U.S.C. 1836), and an attorney can tell you which claims fit the facts.
Do I have to file in federal court?
For patents and copyrights, yes: the federal jurisdiction is exclusive (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)). Trademark claims may also be brought in state court, and a federal trade secret action is filed in federal district court (18 U.S.C. 1836(c)).
Can a trademark claim be brought under Alaska law?
Possibly. Alaska law may provide trademark claims of its own alongside the federal ones, and which apply depends on the mark and the facts. An attorney can explain the options.
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.
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.
Connect With an Unalaska Intellectual Property Attorney
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 Unalaska and what the next few weeks may involve.