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Your Lewiston 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 Lewiston 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 Androscoggin County, Maine’s own trademark and trade secret rules, and what an infringement claim involves. Talking with an attorney who works in the District of Maine can turn these general rules into a plan for your matter.
Quick Answers on Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, and Trade Secrets
- Patent claims are filed in federal court only (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)), and the six-year damages limit in 35 U.S.C. 286 makes early action important.
- Trademarks can be registered federally and in Maine. The federal register is set up by 15 U.S.C. 1051, and state registration is filed with the Maine Secretary of State under 10 M.R.S. chapter 301-A.
- 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)).
- 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)).
- The federal court for Lewiston is the District of Maine, with court held at Bangor and Portland (28 U.S.C. 99).
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 brand is protected as a trademark when it functions to identify and distinguish goods from those of others and to indicate the source of the goods (15 U.S.C. 1127). The same statute defines a service mark for the source of 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)).
Filing Deadlines and Damages Limits
Three years is the copyright limit in 17 U.S.C. 507(b), measured from when the claim accrued. Registration comes first under 17 U.S.C. 411(a), so the clock and the registration process can overlap.
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.
The federal deadlines above do not decide state-law claims. Maine sets its own limitation periods and accrual rules, and an attorney can tell you which apply to a trade secret or unfair competition claim brought under state law.
Protecting your work in Lewiston? Get matched with an attorney now.
Federal and Maine Trademark Registration
For a trademark, the owner of a mark used in commerce may request registration on the principal register by paying the prescribed fee and filing an application and a verified statement with the Patent and Trademark Office (15 U.S.C. 1051(a)(1)). A person with a bona fide intention to use a mark in commerce may also apply (15 U.S.C. 1051(b)(1)).
Maine also has its own trademark registration. A state filing is made with the Maine Secretary of State under 10 M.R.S. chapter 301-A, is separate from the federal register, and does not replace a federal application.
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)).
The filing date is what starts the patent clock (35 U.S.C. 154(a)(2)), so the timing of an application matters. An attorney can advise whether the invention fits the categories in 35 U.S.C. 101.
Where an Intellectual Property Case From Lewiston Is Filed
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 Lewiston is the District of Maine, which covers all of Maine (28 U.S.C. 99) and holds court in Bangor and Portland.
How Maine Law Fits In
Trade secret claims are not only federal. The Uniform Trade Secrets Act (10 M.R.S. 1541 to 1548) 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 state trademark registration in Maine is a different filing from federal registration (15 U.S.C. 1051). It is made with the Maine Secretary of State under 10 M.R.S. chapter 301-A.
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
Using an Invention Without Permission
Patent disputes turn on the patent’s claims and on conduct listed in 35 U.S.C. 271(a), namely making, using, offering to sell, selling, or importing a patented invention without authority.
A patent case is filed in federal district court (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)).
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.
Trademark claims may be filed in federal court or in state court (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)).
Protecting Creative Work
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)).
A civil action must be commenced within three years after the claim accrued (17 U.S.C. 507(b)).
Trade Secret Misappropriation
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 Uniform Trade Secrets Act (10 M.R.S. 1541 to 1548) may provide state-law claims alongside the federal action, with their own deadlines.
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).
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)).
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.
Trade secrets: under the federal statute a court may grant an injunction to prevent actual or threatened misappropriation, award damages for actual loss and for unjust enrichment, or impose liability for a reasonable royalty, and if the misappropriation was willful and malicious, award exemplary damages of not more than 2 times the damages awarded, and attorney’s fees in stated circumstances (18 U.S.C. 1836(b)(3)).
Protecting an idea, brand, or creative work in Lewiston? Talk to an attorney about your deadlines.
Getting Your Records in Order
Before you talk to anyone, list the key dates in order. Copyright and federal trade secret deadlines run from accrual and discovery, and patent damages look back from the complaint, so a clean timeline shows where you stand.
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.
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.
Lewiston: Courts, Counties, and Getting Started
A matter from Lewiston belongs to Androscoggin County and, when it is a federal case, to the District of Maine. Local practice, such as how quickly cases are scheduled and how disputes are handled, shapes how the general rules on this page play out.
To compare options across the state, visit our Maine intellectual property directory. If your matter involved another town in the area, see our pages for Auburn, Lisbon Falls, and Mechanic Falls. If the matter involves a crash, a fall, or another injury, our Lewiston personal injury attorney page is the better fit.
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 the difference between federal and Maine trademark registration?
Federal registration is on the principal register through the Patent and Trademark Office (15 U.S.C. 1051). Maine registration is a separate filing made with the Maine Secretary of State under 10 M.R.S. chapter 301-A, and it does not replace the federal one.
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.
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)).
Which federal court covers Lewiston?
The District of Maine (28 U.S.C. 99).
Can a trademark claim be brought under Maine law?
Possibly. Maine 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.
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 know whether I need a patent, trademark, copyright, or trade secret protection?
It depends on what you are protecting: an invention (35 U.S.C. 101), a name or logo that identifies goods or services (15 U.S.C. 1127), original creative work (17 U.S.C. 102(a)), or confidential information (18 U.S.C. 1839(3)).
Take the Next Step in Your Lewiston Intellectual Property Matter
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.
