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Your Lewistown Intellectual Property Attorney
Ideas, brands, and creative work are only as protected as the steps taken to secure them and the speed of the response when someone copies them. If your business or work is based in Lewistown, the federal and Montana rules on patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets are written down, and knowing them early helps. The sections that follow cover what patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets protect, the filing deadlines, registration, the federal courts for Fergus County, Montana’s own trademark and trade secret rules, and what an infringement claim involves. The facts of your situation decide which area of law controls, and an attorney who practices in federal court can sort that out quickly.
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).
- Infringing a registered mark means using a reproduction, counterfeit, copy, or colorable imitation in a way likely to cause confusion (15 U.S.C. 1114(1)(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)).
- Montana has its own trade secret statute, the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (MCA 30-14-401 to 30-14-408), and the federal action in 18 U.S.C. 1836 sits alongside it.
- Federal district: for Fergus County, the District of Montana under 28 U.S.C. 106, holding court in Billings, Butte, Glasgow, Great Falls, Havre, Helena, Kalispell, Lewistown, Livingston, Miles City, and Missoula.
Which Type of Protection Fits Your Situation
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)).
Trade secret protection depends on two things: the owner took reasonable measures to keep the information secret, and the information has independent economic value because it is not generally known or readily ascertainable (18 U.S.C. 1839(3)). Formulas, methods, processes, programs, and codes can all qualify.
How Long Do You Have to Bring a Claim?
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)).
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.
Do not assume that a state-law claim follows the federal deadlines. Montana’s limitation periods and the point when a claim accrues are matters of Montana statutes and case law, and an attorney can check the dates for your particular claim.
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What to Do Before a Dispute Starts
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)).
State registration is a different filing from a federal application. In Montana it is made with the Montana Secretary of State under Part 3 of Chapter 13 of Title 30 of the Montana Code Annotated, 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)).
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.
Which Court Handles a Claim From Lewistown
The choice of court depends on the type of claim. Patent and copyright cases can only be filed in federal district court (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)), a federal trade secret action is filed in federal district court (18 U.S.C. 1836(c)), and trademark claims can go to federal or state court.
By statute the whole state is a single federal district (28 U.S.C. 106). A federal case from Lewistown is filed in the District of Montana, where court is held at Billings, Butte, Glasgow, Great Falls, Havre, Helena, Kalispell, Lewistown, Livingston, Miles City, and Missoula.
How Montana Law Fits In
Montana has a trade secret statute of its own, the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (MCA 30-14-401 to 30-14-408). A trade secret dispute from Lewistown can involve that statute, and the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act adds a civil action in federal court for a trade secret related to a product or service used in interstate or foreign commerce (18 U.S.C. 1836(b)(1), (c)).
Federal trademark law under 15 U.S.C. 1114 and 1125 sits alongside Montana’s registration system, which runs through the Montana Secretary of State under Part 3 of Chapter 13 of Title 30 of the Montana Code Annotated. The two operate separately.
Whether to plead federal claims, state claims, or both turns on the facts, and an initial conversation with an attorney is the way to sort that out.
The Basics of Each Type of Claim
Claims That a Patent Is Being Infringed
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.
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
Infringement of a registered mark means using in commerce a reproduction, counterfeit, copy, or colorable imitation of the mark in connection with the sale, offering for sale, distribution, or advertising of goods or services where the use is likely to cause confusion, mistake, or deception (15 U.S.C. 1114(1)(a)).
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).
Protecting Creative Work
In a copyright case, the first questions are whether the work is protected at all under 17 U.S.C. 102(a) and whether what was copied was protected expression rather than an idea or method excluded by 17 U.S.C. 102(b).
The duration of a copyright for a work created on or after January 1, 1978 is generally the life of the author plus 70 years (17 U.S.C. 302(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)).
What a Successful Claim Can Recover
In a patent case, the statute directs an award of damages adequate to compensate for the infringement and never less than a reasonable royalty, plus interest and costs, with increases of up to three times possible in the court’s discretion (35 U.S.C. 284). Injunctions are available in accordance with the principles of equity (35 U.S.C. 283).
Trademark: courts can grant injunctions according to the principles of equity to prevent the violation of the rights of a registrant or a violation of section 1125(a), (c), or (d) (15 U.S.C. 1116(a)), and when a violation is established the plaintiff is entitled, subject to the principles of equity, to recover the defendant’s profits, any damages sustained by the plaintiff, and the costs of the action (15 U.S.C. 1117(a)).
Under 17 U.S.C. 504, the choice is between actual damages with additional profits and statutory damages, which the court sets between $750 and $30,000 for any one work.
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).
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 Lewistown? Talk to an attorney about your deadlines.
What an Attorney Will Want to See
Start with the basics: what you created or invented, who was involved, and when each step happened. Dates matter because the deadlines described above run from events such as accrual of a claim, discovery of a misappropriation, or the filing of an application.
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.
Bring the original work and dated drafts for a copyright issue, and a description of the information, access records, and confidentiality measures for a trade secret issue.
Lewistown: Courts, Counties, and Getting Started
Deadlines and definitions are the same across Montana, and the courthouse is not. A federal case from Lewistown is filed in the District of Montana, and getting the timeline for that court from an attorney who practices there is a sound first step.
For the full list of Montana communities we serve, see our Montana intellectual property page. People in this part of the state also look to our pages for Grass Range, Roundup, and White Sulphur Springs. Hurt in an accident rather than dealing with a patent, trademark, or copyright issue? Read our Lewistown personal injury page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can be patented?
A new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter may be patented, subject to the conditions and requirements of the patent statute (35 U.S.C. 101).
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 does a copyright last?
For a work created on or after January 1, 1978, the life of the author and 70 years after the author’s death (17 U.S.C. 302(a)), with different rules for joint works, anonymous and pseudonymous works, and works made for hire.
Does Montana have a trade secret statute?
Yes. It is the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (MCA 30-14-401 to 30-14-408). 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.
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 Montana state-law claims are separate claims.
Can I register a trademark with the state of Montana?
Yes. A state registration is filed with the Montana Secretary of State under Part 3 of Chapter 13 of Title 30 of the Montana Code Annotated, and it is a separate filing from the federal application.
Why does timing matter in an intellectual property dispute?
Because federal statutes set fixed limits, such as three years for copyright (17 U.S.C. 507(b)) and for federal trade secret claims (18 U.S.C. 1836(d)), and six years of look-back for patent damages (35 U.S.C. 286), waiting can cost rights and money.
How do I keep information as a trade secret?
Take reasonable measures to keep it secret, because that is one of the two elements of the definition (18 U.S.C. 1839(3)), and consult an attorney about what measures are reasonable for your business.
Take the Next Step in Your Lewistown 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 Fergus County.
