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Your Pukalani Intellectual Property Attorney
A patent, a trademark, a copyright, and a trade secret are four different things with four different sets of rules. For a Pukalani business, artist, or inventor, the first step is knowing which one is actually involved, and this page walks through how to tell. The sections that follow cover what patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets protect, the filing deadlines, registration, the federal courts for Maui County, Hawaii’s own trademark and trade secret rules, and what an infringement claim involves. Talking with an attorney who works in the District of Hawaii can turn these general rules into a plan for your matter.
Quick Answers on Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, and Trade Secrets
- 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)).
- Trademarks can be registered federally and in Hawaii. The federal register is set up by 15 U.S.C. 1051, and state registration is filed with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration Division under HRS chapter 482.
- Three years to bring a copyright claim (17 U.S.C. 507(b)), and federal district courts have original jurisdiction over copyright claims (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)).
- 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 Maui County, the District of Hawaii under 28 U.S.C. 91, holding court in Honolulu.
Four Kinds of Intellectual Property and What Each Covers
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.
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)).
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)).
Deadlines for Intellectual Property Claims
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)).
For a federal trade secret claim, the three years run from discovery of the misappropriation, or from when it should have been discovered by reasonable diligence, and a continuing misappropriation is treated as a single claim (18 U.S.C. 1836(d)).
Six years is the number to know in patent cases: infringement more than six years before the complaint cannot be recovered on (35 U.S.C. 286).
A Hawaii state-law claim brings its own deadline and its own accrual rule. Both come from Hawaii statutes and court decisions and should be reviewed by an attorney at the start of the matter.
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Registration Steps for Trademarks and Copyrights
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)).
A Hawaii business can ask an attorney whether a state-level trademark filing with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration Division is worth adding to a federal application. The provisions are in HRS chapter 482, and the two registrations are separate.
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.
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 Pukalani 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.
The federal court for Pukalani is the District of Hawaii, which covers all of Hawaii (28 U.S.C. 91) and holds court in Honolulu.
How Hawaii 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 (HRS chapter 482B). The state and federal claims are separate.
Trademark protection has a state layer as well. A state trademark registration in Hawaii is filed with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration Division under HRS chapter 482, and it is separate from federal registration on the principal register (15 U.S.C. 1051).
Choosing between state and federal claims, or bringing both, is something an attorney should decide after reviewing what happened and what proof exists.
What Kinds of Intellectual Property Cases Come Up?
Patent Infringement
The basic patent infringement rule is in 35 U.S.C. 271(a): without authority, making, using, offering to sell, or selling a patented invention in the United States, or importing one, during the patent term.
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.
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.
A state registration in Hawaii (HRS chapter 482) is different from federal registration on the principal register (15 U.S.C. 1051).
Copyright Claims
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)).
For a United States work, registration must be made before an infringement suit is instituted (17 U.S.C. 411(a)).
Protecting Confidential Business Information
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.
Remedies in Intellectual Property Cases
The patent statute provides for damages adequate to compensate for the infringement, not less than a reasonable royalty (35 U.S.C. 284), and for injunctions to prevent the violation of a patent right (35 U.S.C. 283).
A brand owner who establishes a violation may recover the defendant’s profits, damages sustained, and costs (15 U.S.C. 1117(a)), and can ask the court for an injunction to stop the violation (15 U.S.C. 1116(a)), both subject to the principles of equity.
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)).
Under 17 U.S.C. 412, an owner who registers after an infringement has started may lose access to statutory damages and attorney’s fees for that infringement, unless the work was published and registered within three months of 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 Pukalani? Find out where your matter stands.
Preparing for a First Conversation
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.
If the issue is a patent, gather technical drawings, descriptions, and any application numbers. If it is a trademark, gather the mark, examples of use, and registration information.
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.
What to Know About Cases From Pukalani
Deadlines and definitions are the same across Hawaii, and the courthouse is not. A federal case from Pukalani is filed in the District of Hawaii, and getting the timeline for that court from an attorney who practices there is a sound first step.
Hurt in an accident rather than dealing with a patent, trademark, or copyright issue? Read our Pukalani personal injury page. If your matter involved another town in the area, see our pages for Kihei, Kahului, and Maalaea. For the full list of Hawaii communities we serve, see our Hawaii intellectual property page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is a patent infringement case filed?
In federal district court. The district courts have original jurisdiction of civil actions arising under patent law, and that jurisdiction is exclusive (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)). For Pukalani, that is the District of Hawaii.
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.
How long do I have to bring a trade secret claim under federal law?
Three years after the misappropriation is discovered or, by the exercise of reasonable diligence, should have been discovered, and a continuing misappropriation counts as a single claim (18 U.S.C. 1836(d)).
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)).
Do federal deadlines apply to Hawaii state-law claims?
Not automatically. Hawaii state-law claims have their own limitation periods and accrual rules, set by Hawaii statutes and court decisions, and an attorney should check them.
How long do I have to bring a copyright claim?
Three years after the claim accrued (17 U.S.C. 507(b)), and registration must come before suit on a United States work (17 U.S.C. 411(a)).
Can I protect software or written material?
Written material and other original expression fixed in a tangible medium can be protected by copyright (17 U.S.C. 102(a)), but not the underlying ideas, procedures, or methods of operation (17 U.S.C. 102(b)).
Speak With Someone Who Handles Cases Like Yours
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.
