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If you have an invention in Devils Lake
Summers Manufacturing, a farm equipment maker, built a factory in the Devils Lake industrial park in 1980 and lists a Devils Lake office. Its company history says it introduced patented mud scrapers on rolling basket attachments in 2013. That is a company’s own account of its product, so read it as the story of one business rather than a guide to what can be patented.
The North Dakota Small Business Development Center lists a Devils Lake location at the North Central Planning Council, 425 College Drive South, Suite 13, Devils Lake, ND 58301, on its contact page, which was read in 2026. Questions about who owns an invention, or whether a patent claim is worth filing, belong with an attorney.
University and lab connections near Devils Lake
Lake Region State College is a member of the North Dakota University System, and its website shows a campus at 1801 College Drive North in Devils Lake as of 2026. This page does not name a technology transfer office, research park or incubator in Devils Lake. If your invention grew out of coursework, a campus job or a project with any school, ask an attorney how that school’s rules on inventions apply to you. Ask before you file anything or show the invention to other people.
Patent clocks and public disclosure
Damages for patent infringement are limited to the six years before the suit is filed (35 U.S.C. 286). Write down when you first showed, sold, described or published the invention, and to whom. An attorney can tell you what those dates mean for your own filing options.
If someone copies your invention: which federal court lists Ramsey County
A patent claim is filed in federal court alone (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)). For the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota, Ramsey County is listed under the Eastern Division in the court’s Local Rules (General Rule 1.1), and the court’s pages list 655 1st Ave. North, #130, Fargo, ND 58102-4932 for it. That listing tells you which division the court assigns to the county. It does not say where a particular dispute from Devils Lake would be filed. An attorney should confirm the court and the division before anything is filed.
A North Dakota trademark registration carries state infringement remedies under chapter 47-22 of the state code. The owner of a misappropriated trade secret that relates to a product or service used in, or intended for use in, interstate or foreign commerce can sue in federal court under 18 U.S.C. 1836(b).
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Questions inventors ask
North Dakota’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act defines a trade secret as information, such as a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique or process, that gets independent economic value from not being generally known or readily ascertainable by proper means. The information must also be the subject of reasonable efforts to keep it secret. Those two parts, value from secrecy and reasonable efforts to protect it, are what to bring to an attorney if you want to know whether your unfiled invention fits.
Under chapter 47-22, a registered mark appears in a public state record, the certificate of registration is admissible as proof of registration in state court actions, and the owner may seek an injunction, profits and damages. Trademarks can also be registered federally under 15 U.S.C. 1051.
More answers on noncompetes, copyrights and trade secret timing are in the separate question list for this page.
Finding the right attorney
Bring a short timeline to a first conversation, with dates for when you created, shared, sold or published the invention or work and any agreement that touches it. An attorney can then see which of the rules above could apply. If a school, an employer or a business partner is involved, say so early. To start, you can get matched with an intellectual property attorney.
Not sure which type of protection applies? Get matched with an attorney.
Related Intellectual Property Pages
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an employer in North Dakota stop me from working for a competitor?
North Dakota Century Code section 9-08-06 voids any contract that restrains a person from a lawful profession, trade or business to that extent. It has two exceptions: a seller of a business’s goodwill, with its partners, members or shareholders, who agrees with the buyer not to carry on a similar business within a reasonable area and time, and partners, members or shareholders who agree not to compete on or in anticipation of a dissolution, a dissociation or the sale of an ownership interest. An attorney should confirm how the statute applies to any agreement you have signed.
What goes into a North Dakota trademark application?
The application is signed and names the owner, the goods or services and their class, the dates of first use anywhere and in North Dakota, and a statement of ownership. It comes with a specimen or facsimile of the mark in duplicate. A registration lasts ten years from the registration date and can be renewed for further ten year periods (N.D.C.C. ch. 47-22).
Where can I get small business help in Devils Lake?
The contact page of the North Dakota Small Business Development Center, read in 2026, lists a Devils Lake location at the North Central Planning Council. The listed address is 425 College Drive South, Suite 13, Devils Lake, ND 58301. Questions about who owns an invention or a brand are legal ones, so take them to an attorney.
Do I have to register a copyright before I can sue?
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)). A civil copyright claim must also be brought within three years after it accrued (17 U.S.C. 507(b)). An attorney can tell you when your own three years began.
How long do I have to bring a trade secret claim?
Under North Dakota’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act, a claim for misappropriation must be brought within three years after the misappropriation is discovered or should have been discovered with reasonable diligence. A continuing misappropriation counts as a single claim. The federal Defend Trade Secrets Act, at 18 U.S.C. 1836, lets the owner of a trade secret sue in federal court under that statute.
Connect With a Devils Lake Intellectual Property Attorney
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 Ramsey County.
