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If you run a business in Silver City
A business inside Silver City town limits does not use the Grant County business license. Grant County, at 1400 Highway 180 East in Silver City, offers a county business license, listed on its business license page under the County Clerk, for businesses located outside any municipality, and the license requires a New Mexico tax ID. Licensing and ownership are separate questions, and this page deals with ownership: your business name, your logo, your methods, your customer lists and the agreements you sign with the people who work for you.
New Mexico adds a trademark registration of its own, a trade secrets statute of its own and a noncompete statute that reaches health care practitioners.
Protecting a brand name and logo
A business can register a trademark or service mark at two levels. Federal registration is available under 15 U.S.C. 1051. A mark can also be registered with the New Mexico Secretary of State, Business Services Division, which publishes its trademark page and lists an office at 325 Don Gaspar, Suite 300, Santa Fe, NM 87501. The state Trademark Act is Chapter 57, Article 3B of the New Mexico statutes.
The Secretary of State’s application instructions, revised in 2020, ask for three different specimens, with at least one showing a New Mexico physical address. The instructions also say the mark must already be in use in New Mexico.
The Secretary of State’s form from 2020 lists a $50 filing fee that includes one class, plus $25 for each added class, and a $25 fee to renew. Because those numbers come from 2020 forms, check the current forms before you file.
Protecting methods, lists and know how
New Mexico has its own trade secrets statute, the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, in Chapter 57, Article 3A of the New Mexico statutes, Sections 57-3A-1 to 57-3A-7. The New Mexico Supreme Court Law Library includes it in its guide to uniform laws. The federal Defend Trade Secrets Act, 18 U.S.C. 1836, sits beside the state statute.
Under 18 U.S.C. 1836(b), the owner of a misappropriated trade secret that is related to a product or service used in, or intended for use in, interstate or foreign commerce can sue in federal court. Whether a particular method, customer list or body of know how qualifies is a question for an attorney. Bring a plain description of what you want to protect, who in your business has access to it, and what agreements those people have signed.
Employees, contractors and noncompete agreements
New Mexico has a noncompete statute for health care practitioners, in Sections 24A-4-1 to 24A-4-5 of the New Mexico statutes. Under it, a noncompete in an agreement with a covered health care practitioner cannot be enforced once the agreement, a renewal or an extension, or the practitioner’s employment with the party seeking enforcement ends. A clause that moves such an agreement to another state’s law or courts is void. The covered practitioners include physicians, dentists, nurse practitioners, psychologists, physician assistants and pharmacists.
If you hire for a shop, an office or a trade, an attorney should confirm the current rule before you write a noncompete or rely on one. Before you hire, ask an attorney how your agreements should treat the work your employees and contractors create for you.
Protecting your work in Silver City? Get matched with an attorney now.
The federal court district for New Mexico
The federal court in New Mexico is the District of New Mexico. The court lists courthouses in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Roswell and Santa Fe, and its pages describe them as places where the court holds court. An attorney can confirm which court and which courthouse fit a particular dispute.
Federal statutes also set rules for these claims. A patent claim is filed in federal court (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)), and damages for patent infringement can be recovered for the six years before the suit is filed and no further back (35 U.S.C. 286). A civil copyright claim must be brought within three years after it accrued (17 U.S.C. 507(b)). A United States work generally must be registered, or refused registration by the Copyright Office, before an infringement suit can be filed (17 U.S.C. 411(a)).
Local programs for owners
The Silver City Small Business Development Center at Western New Mexico University sits in Watts Hall at 500 18th Street, Room 107, in Silver City, according to the center’s page as viewed on October 31, 2026. It serves startup and existing businesses in Catron, Grant, Hidalgo and Luna counties. The New Mexico SBDC network, of which the Silver City center is part, offers technology commercialization and intellectual property assistance through its Technology Commercialization Accelerator program. If you have an invention or a product idea, ask the center how that program works, and bring questions about ownership, contracts or filings to an attorney.
The Western New Mexico University School of Business lists a mailing address of PO Box 680 in Silver City on its contact page, and its site menus list the programs Accounting, Management, General Business, Marketing and a Master of Business Administration, as of October 31, 2026.
Talk to an attorney in the network
A first conversation goes faster with a short timeline. Write down when you created, shared, sold or published the work, name each person who helped, and keep any agreement that touches it. To start, you can get matched with an intellectual property attorney.
Facing an infringement dispute in Silver City? Find out where your matter stands.
Related Intellectual Property Pages
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a patent infringement claim be filed in state court?
A patent claim is filed in federal court, according to 28 U.S.C. 1338(a), so state court is not the place for it. Damages for patent infringement can be recovered for the six years before the suit is filed and no further back (35 U.S.C. 286).
How long does a business have to bring a copyright claim?
A civil copyright claim must be brought within three years after it accrued (17 U.S.C. 507(b)). A United States work generally must be registered, or refused registration by the Copyright Office, before an infringement suit can be filed (17 U.S.C. 411(a)). An attorney can tell you when your own three years began.
Does the Grant County business license apply to a shop inside Silver City?
It does not. Grant County offers the license for businesses located outside any municipality, so it does not apply inside Silver City town limits. The county lists it under the County Clerk, and it requires a New Mexico tax ID.
Which counties does the Silver City small business center serve?
The center at Western New Mexico University, in Watts Hall at 500 18th Street, Room 107, serves startup and existing businesses in Catron, Grant, Hidalgo and Luna counties.
What fees does the New Mexico Secretary of State list for a state trademark?
The Secretary of State’s form from 2020 lists a $50 filing fee that includes one class, plus $25 for each added class, and a $25 fee to renew. Because those figures come from a 2020 form, check the current one before you file. Trademarks can be registered federally under 15 U.S.C. 1051.
Can a health care employer enforce a noncompete against a nurse practitioner in New Mexico?
The state statute on noncompetes for health care practitioners covers nurse practitioners, along with physicians, dentists, psychologists, physician assistants and pharmacists. Under it, a noncompete in an agreement with a covered practitioner cannot be enforced once the agreement, a renewal or an extension, or the practitioner’s employment with the party seeking enforcement ends. An attorney should confirm the current rule.
Take the Next Step in Your Silver City 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.
