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Your Passaic Intellectual Property Attorney
Finding out that someone is using your invention, your name, or your creative work without permission is unsettling. This page explains the federal and New Jersey rules that most often decide how an intellectual property matter from Passaic unfolds. The sections that follow cover what patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets protect, the filing deadlines, registration, the federal courts for Passaic County, New Jersey’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.
Your Key Federal and New Jersey Rules in One Place
- 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).
- Federal trademark registration is available to the owner of a mark used in commerce or to a person with a bona fide intention to use one (15 U.S.C. 1051(a)(1), (b)(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.
- What is a trade secret? Information the owner has taken reasonable measures to keep secret and that derives independent economic value from not being generally known (18 U.S.C. 1839(3)).
- Which court? A case from Passaic that belongs in federal court is filed in the District of New Jersey, which holds court in Camden, Newark, and Trenton.
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, and Trade Secrets Compared
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)).
Under 15 U.S.C. 1127, a trademark is any word, name, symbol, or device, or a combination, that identifies and distinguishes one person’s goods from another’s and indicates their source, and a service mark performs that function for services.
Copyright protects original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression (17 U.S.C. 102(a)), such as literary, musical, dramatic, and pictorial works, motion pictures, sound recordings, and architectural works. It never extends to an idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery (17 U.S.C. 102(b)).
A trade secret is information the owner has taken reasonable measures to keep secret and that derives independent economic value from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable through proper means by, another person (18 U.S.C. 1839(3)). The statute covers financial, business, scientific, and technical information such as patterns, plans, formulas, designs, methods, processes, programs, and codes.
How Long Do You Have to Bring a Claim?
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)).
The federal trade secret deadline is set by 18 U.S.C. 1836(d): three years from the date the misappropriation was discovered or by the exercise of reasonable diligence should have been discovered, with continuing misappropriation counted as one claim.
Patents: there is no recovery for infringement committed more than six years before the filing of the complaint or counterclaim for infringement (35 U.S.C. 286). Waiting can therefore shrink the damages available even when the patent itself is still in force.
A New Jersey state-law claim brings its own deadline and its own accrual rule. Both come from New Jersey statutes and court decisions and should be reviewed by an attorney at the start of the matter.
Protecting your work in Passaic? Get matched with an attorney now.
Federal and New Jersey 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.
A New Jersey business can ask an attorney whether a state-level trademark filing with the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services in the New Jersey Department of the Treasury is worth adding to a federal application. The provisions are in N.J.S.A. 56:3-13.1 and following sections, and the two registrations are separate.
Copyright exists without a filing, but a lawsuit about a United States work requires preregistration or registration first (17 U.S.C. 411(a)). The standard term for a work created on or after January 1, 1978 is the life of the author and 70 years after the author’s death (17 U.S.C. 302(a)).
A patent application starts the 20-year term (35 U.S.C. 154(a)(2)), and the invention must fit a statutory category such as a process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter (35 U.S.C. 101). An attorney can review both points before you file.
Federal District Courts and Where They Sit
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.
The federal court for Passaic is the District of New Jersey, which covers all of New Jersey (28 U.S.C. 110) and holds court in Camden, Newark, and Trenton.
How New Jersey Law Fits In
New Jersey has a trade secret statute of its own, the New Jersey Trade Secrets Act (N.J.S.A. 56:15-1 and following sections). A trade secret dispute from Passaic 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)).
Trademark protection has a state layer as well. A state trademark registration in New Jersey is filed with the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services in the New Jersey Department of the Treasury under N.J.S.A. 56:3-13.1 and following sections, and it is separate from federal registration on the principal register (15 U.S.C. 1051).
Which claims to bring, and in which court, is a strategy question for an attorney who can read the documents.
The Claims Behind Most Intellectual Property Disputes
Claims That a Patent Is Being Infringed
Infringement occurs when someone, without authority, makes, uses, offers to sell, or sells any patented invention within the United States, or imports a patented invention into the United States, during the term of the patent (35 U.S.C. 271(a)).
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
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)).
State trademark registration in New Jersey is filed with the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services in the New Jersey Department of the Treasury under N.J.S.A. 56:3-13.1 and following sections, separate from the federal statutes.
Copyright Claims
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)).
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)).
Protecting Confidential Business Information
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.
Documents showing who had access, and what confidentiality steps existed, are among the first things to preserve.
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).
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.
A copyright owner can choose between actual damages plus the infringer’s profits attributable to the infringement, and statutory damages (17 U.S.C. 504(a), (b)), and statutory damages range from $750 to $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.
The Defend Trade Secrets Act lists the remedies: an injunction, damages for actual loss and unjust enrichment (or a reasonable royalty), exemplary damages of not more than 2 times the damages for willful and malicious misappropriation, and attorney’s fees in the situations the statute names (18 U.S.C. 1836(b)(3)).
Facing an infringement dispute in Passaic? Find out where your matter stands.
Getting Your Records in Order
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.
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.
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.
A Note on Passaic and the Federal Court
A matter from Passaic belongs to Passaic County and, when it is a federal case, to the District of New Jersey. Local practice, such as how quickly cases are scheduled and how disputes are handled, shapes how the general rules on this page play out.
For a personal injury rather than an intellectual property question, our Passaic personal injury page explains the New Jersey rules. We connect people in Clifton, Lyndhurst, and Paterson with local attorneys as well. Every New Jersey city we cover is listed on our New Jersey intellectual property attorney 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 a trademark case be filed in state court?
Yes. The federal district courts have original jurisdiction over trademark claims, and trademark claims may also be brought in state court (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)).
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)).
What is a trade secret?
Information the owner has taken reasonable measures to keep secret and that derives independent economic value from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable through proper means by, another person (18 U.S.C. 1839(3)).
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 New Jersey state-law claims are separate claims.
Does New Jersey law protect trade secrets?
Yes. New Jersey has the New Jersey Trade Secrets Act (N.J.S.A. 56:15-1 and following sections), and the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (18 U.S.C. 1836) adds a separate federal action.
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.
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