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Your Buffalo 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 Buffalo, the federal and New York 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 Erie County, New York’s own trademark and trade secret rules, and what an infringement claim involves. These rules apply across New York, but where a case is filed depends on the county, and an attorney familiar with the Western District of New York can explain what to expect there.
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).
- Even an unregistered mark can be protected against false designation of origin, through a civil action by anyone who believes they are likely to be damaged (15 U.S.C. 1125(a)(1)).
- Register first, sue second. No civil action for infringement of the copyright in a United States work can be instituted until registration has been made or refused in the way the statute provides (17 U.S.C. 411(a)).
- 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)).
- Federal district: for Erie County, the Western District of New York under 28 U.S.C. 112, holding court in Buffalo, Canandaigua, Elmira, Jamestown, and Rochester.
Which Type of Protection Fits Your Situation
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)).
If the issue is a business name, logo, or slogan, the question is trademark, which the Lanham Act defines as a word, name, symbol, or device that identifies and distinguishes goods and indicates their source (15 U.S.C. 1127), with service marks covering services.
For creative work, copyright arises in original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression (17 U.S.C. 102(a)). The limit in 17 U.S.C. 102(b) means the underlying idea or method is not protected even when the way it is expressed is.
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.
Deadlines for Intellectual Property Claims
Copyright: a civil action must be commenced within three years after the claim accrued (17 U.S.C. 507(b)). Because a United States work must also be registered before an infringement suit can be filed (17 U.S.C. 411(a)), the registration step should not be left until after the dispute begins.
Trade secret claims under federal law must be filed within three years of discovery, or of when reasonable diligence would have revealed the misappropriation, and continuing misappropriation is one 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).
State-law claims, such as New York’s common-law trade secret claims or a claim under the trademark dilution statute, have their own rules on limitation periods and on when a claim begins to run. Those are set by New York statutes and court decisions, so the dates should be checked by an attorney rather than assumed from the federal deadlines.
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Steps That Strengthen a Claim Before It Is Needed
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 also possible. General Business Law 360-b allows any person who uses a mark to file in the office of the New York secretary of state, subject to the article’s limitations, in addition to any federal filing.
Registering a copyright before there is a dispute avoids a delay later. The statute says no civil action for infringement of the copyright in a United States work may be instituted until preregistration or registration has been made (17 U.S.C. 411(a)).
For an invention, the patent term of 20 years runs from the date the application was filed (35 U.S.C. 154(a)(2)), so the timing of an application is worth discussing with a patent attorney.
Federal and State Courts for Intellectual Property Claims
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.
Under 28 U.S.C. 112, counties are grouped into four federal districts. For Erie County, the court is the Western District of New York, and it holds court in Buffalo, Canandaigua, Elmira, Jamestown, and Rochester.
Trade Secrets and Trademark Dilution Under New York Law
A trade secret dispute from Buffalo can involve state common law, since New York has no trade secret statute, and the federal civil action created by 18 U.S.C. 1836(b)(1), which is filed in federal district court (18 U.S.C. 1836(c)).
State dilution law is a New York addition: General Business Law 360-l allows injunctive relief for likely injury to business reputation or dilution, regardless of whether the mark is registered and even when there is no competition or confusion between the parties.
Which claims to bring, and in which court, is a strategy question for an attorney who can read the documents.
Types of Intellectual Property Claims
Patent Infringement
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)).
Because the six-year damages limit in 35 U.S.C. 286 runs back from the complaint, delay can reduce what is recoverable.
Confusing Similarity and Brand Protection
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)).
Copyright Infringement
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)).
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).
A continuing misappropriation is treated as a single claim for the federal deadline (18 U.S.C. 1836(d)).
What a Successful Claim Can Recover
For patents, 35 U.S.C. 284 sets the damages floor at a reasonable royalty and lets the court increase damages up to three times the amount found or assessed, and 35 U.S.C. 283 allows injunctions according to the principles of equity, on terms the court considers reasonable.
The trademark remedies are set out in 15 U.S.C. 1116(a), which gives courts the power to grant injunctions, and 15 U.S.C. 1117(a), which lets a plaintiff recover defendant’s profits, damages, and costs once a violation is established.
Copyright: an infringer is liable for either the copyright owner’s actual damages and any additional profits of the infringer, or statutory damages (17 U.S.C. 504(a)). For statutory damages, the court may award a sum of not less than $750 or more than $30,000 per work as it 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.
In federal trade secret cases the court can enjoin actual or threatened misappropriation, award damages for loss and unjust enrichment or a reasonable royalty, and, for willful and malicious misappropriation, exemplary damages up to 2 times the damages awarded (18 U.S.C. 1836(b)(3)).
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Preparing for a First Conversation
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.
Useful patent records include sketches, notebooks, prototypes, and application numbers. Useful trademark records include the logo or name, packaging or signage showing use, and state or federal registration papers.
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.
A Note on Buffalo and the Federal Court
The rules on this page are national or statewide, but the practical details are local. For a Buffalo claim that means Erie County and the Western District of New York. Asking an attorney how long cases usually take there helps put the deadlines in context.
If the matter involves a crash, a fall, or another injury, our Buffalo personal injury attorney page is the better fit. We also match people with intellectual property attorneys in Niagara Falls, Houghton, and Salamanca. The New York intellectual property overview covers every city we serve across the state.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a patent case be brought in New York state court?
No. Patent claims are within the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal district courts (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)), so a case from Buffalo is filed in the Western District of New York.
Can I register my business name or logo as a trademark?
A word, name, symbol, or device used to identify and distinguish goods and indicate their source is a trademark (15 U.S.C. 1127), and the owner of a mark used in commerce may request federal registration (15 U.S.C. 1051(a)(1)).
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)).
How many federal districts does New York have?
Four: the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of New York, arranged by county (28 U.S.C. 112).
Can I bring both federal and state claims?
Often yes. A dispute can involve federal claims, such as under 15 U.S.C. 1114 or 18 U.S.C. 1836, and state-law claims, such as General Business Law 360-l or common-law trade secret claims. An attorney can advise which to bring.
Is there a deadline to sue for patent infringement?
Patent damages reach back six years before the complaint (35 U.S.C. 286), so delay can reduce recovery even while the patent is in force.
Can I protect a logo or slogan?
A word, name, symbol, or device used to identify and distinguish goods or services and indicate their source can be a trademark or service mark (15 U.S.C. 1127).
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