Fill Out The Form To Be Connected Instantly to the Patent Infringement Attorney Needed In Your Case!
Ready to talk to someone about an intellectual property matter in Jamestown? The form above connects you directly, no need to read everything below first.
Jamestown at a glance
Agri-Cover, Inc. gives 3000 Hwy 281 SE in Jamestown as its address on its patents page, which lists U.S. patent numbers and Canadian industrial design registration numbers for its truck bed covers, tarp systems and mud flaps, along with registered United States trademarks such as LOMAX and VANISH. Those details are as of the page’s 2026 copyright line, read on October 31, 2026. This page follows nine steps in order, from listing what you own to talking with an attorney.
Step one: identify what you own
Start with a plain list of what you have made or named. Include any invention or design, any written, visual or recorded work, any name or logo you use to sell goods or services, and any business information you keep private, such as a formula, a process or a customer list. For each item, write down who created it, when it was first shared or sold, and whether anyone else, such as an employer, a client or a college, had a hand in it. Gather every contract that touches the work.
Step two: check what is registered
Federal trademark registration is available under 15 U.S.C. 1051, and North Dakota keeps its own trademark record as well.
A state registration lasts ten years from the registration date and can be renewed for further ten year periods.
Step three: which federal court lists Stutsman County
The United States District Court for the District of North Dakota lists Stutsman County under its Eastern Division, and the court’s pages give 655 1st Ave. North, #130, Fargo, ND 58102-4932 for that listing. That is the county list, not a statement about where any particular dispute would be filed. An attorney should confirm the court before anything is filed. A patent claim is filed in federal court alone (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)).
Protecting your work in Jamestown? Get matched with an attorney now.
Step four: watch the clock
Damages for patent infringement can be recovered for the six years before the suit is filed, and not for earlier years (35 U.S.C. 286). A civil copyright claim must be brought within three years after it accrued (17 U.S.C. 507(b)), and 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)). For trade secrets, North Dakota’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act sets three years after the misappropriation is discovered or should have been discovered with reasonable diligence, and a continuing misappropriation counts as a single claim. Write the dates from step one beside each item and ask an attorney to check when each clock began.
Step five: protect secrets at work
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 and that is the subject of reasonable efforts to keep it secret.
North Dakota has a statute, N.D.C.C. 9-08-06, that voids a contract to the extent it restrains a person from a lawful profession, trade or business, with two exceptions, one for a seller of a business’s goodwill and one for partners, members or shareholders in a dissolution, a dissociation or the sale of an ownership interest. An attorney should confirm how that statute applies to any agreement you have signed or been asked to sign.
Step six: use local help
The Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corporation page lists a North Dakota Small Business Development Centers business advisor with an office at 120 2nd Street SE in Jamestown. The Jamestown Regional Entrepreneurship Center is located in Room 109 of the Unruh-Sheldon Building at 6000 College Lane in Jamestown. An article dated May 2023 on the development corporation’s news page about the center says it offers free webinars, individualized technical assistance and customized training to startups in a multi county region. Confirm the office and the offer before you plan a visit around them.
Step seven: local organizations to know
The University of Jamestown, at 6000 College Lane in Jamestown, has the Hansen Institute of Sponsored Programs, Innovation, and Research Excellence, known as InSPIRE. According to the university’s InSPIRE page, it offers research grants, faculty mentoring and grant writing help, with a planning year starting July 1, 2026 and full campus access planned for July 1, 2027. If your work grows out of a grant or a campus project, ask what the university’s rules say about who owns what you create, and have an attorney read them before you sign anything.
Step eight: industry context
Collins Aerospace operates a cargo systems manufacturing site at 2604 Highway 20 North in Jamestown, and the local development corporation’s listing describes it as the largest manufacturing employer in the city. That listing is undated, so treat the description as the development corporation’s own wording rather than a current count.
Protecting an idea, brand, or creative work in Jamestown? Talk to an attorney about your deadlines.
Step nine: talk to an attorney
Bring your list from step one to a first conversation, along with the dates, any agreement that touches the work, and any registration or filing you already hold. Ask an attorney which of the clocks and registrations above apply and what to do next. For a statewide view, see North Dakota intellectual property attorneys. Nearby pages are written for Dickey and Medina, and for other states, see intellectual property attorneys across the country. To start, you can get matched with an intellectual property attorney.
Related Intellectual Property Pages
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a patent claim be brought in a North Dakota state court?
A patent claim is filed in federal court alone (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)). An attorney should confirm the court before anything is filed.
How long can I wait to bring a trade secret claim in North Dakota?
North Dakota’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act requires a misappropriation claim to be brought within three years after the misappropriation is discovered or should have been discovered with reasonable diligence. A continuing misappropriation is treated as a single claim.
What does North Dakota law say about agreements that restrain a trade or profession?
North Dakota has a statute, N.D.C.C. 9-08-06, that voids a contract to the extent it restrains a person from a lawful profession, trade or business, with two exceptions, one for a seller of a business’s goodwill and one for partners, members or shareholders in a dissolution, a dissociation or the sale of an ownership interest. An attorney should confirm how it applies to an agreement you have signed or been asked to sign.
Where can a Jamestown startup find free training before it talks to an attorney?
An article dated May 2023 on the Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corporation news page says the Jamestown Regional Entrepreneurship Center offers free webinars, individualized technical assistance and customized training to startups in a multi county region. Confirm any offer before you plan around it.
Get Started With an Attorney in Jamestown
The rules on this page are the same statewide, but what they mean for your matter depends on the facts. Use the form to be matched with an attorney who can look at your situation and your dates.
