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How intellectual property law shows up in Minot
Minot State University sits at 500 University Avenue West, and the North Dakota Small Business Development Centers list their Minot center at that same street address, in Old Main, Suite 315B. The university’s Office of Sponsored Programs is listed at that address as well, and its entrepreneurship academy has an office in Old Main on the same campus.
A patent claim belongs in federal court and nowhere else (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)). A patent owner who sues for infringement can recover damages for the six years before the suit was filed and no further back (35 U.S.C. 286). A civil copyright claim has to be brought within three years after it accrued (17 U.S.C. 507(b)), and for a United States work, registration with the Copyright Office, or a refusal of registration, generally has to come before an infringement suit can be filed (17 U.S.C. 411(a)). A trademark can be registered federally under 15 U.S.C. 1051. 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 under 18 U.S.C. 1836(b).
Which federal court lists Ward County
The United States District Court for the District of North Dakota lists four court locations on its home page, and one of them is the Bruce M. Van Sickle U.S. Courthouse in Minot. The court describes that Minot location as an unstaffed satellite office, and mail goes to Bismarck.
Ward County is listed under the Western Division, and the court’s pages give 220 East Rosser Ave. #476, Bismarck, ND 58501-3869 for it, with a mailing address of PO Box 1193, Bismarck, ND 58502-1193. That is what the court’s county list says, and nothing more should be read into it. An attorney should confirm the court before anything is filed.
Colleges and research programs near Minot
The Office of Sponsored Programs at Minot State University helps faculty and staff pursue outside support such as grants, contracts, royalties, licensing agreements and technical assistance agreements. The office is listed in room 216A of Memorial on the campus at 500 University Avenue West. It is a research office, and its page does not describe it as a technology transfer office. If you work at the university and have made something new, ask an attorney what any school policy on inventions means for your work before you share it.
The Severson Entrepreneurship Academy at Minot State offers an entrepreneurship degree program, a minor and a certificate, and it keeps an office in Old Main 304 on the Minot campus. Its page uses the word incubator, but the academy runs as a college program. SOURCES: F4
Help for inventors and business owners in Ward County
The North Dakota Small Business Development Centers list a Minot center at Old Main, Suite 315B, 500 University Avenue West. That listing reflects the organization’s 2026 pages. Questions about who owns an invention or a brand belong with an attorney.
The Minot Area Chamber EDC, at 1020 20th Avenue SW, runs Start Up Minot, which includes a ten week cohort class and a monthly morning networking event at the Carnegie Center downtown. The North Dakota Small Business Development Centers and the Severson academy are among the coalition members behind it. In 2026 the page lists a cohort starting September 16, 2026. A trade secret depends on reasonable efforts to keep it secret, so it is worth deciding in advance what you will say at a networking event.
Protecting your work in Minot? Get matched with an attorney now.
North Dakota rules that sit beside federal law
Under North Dakota’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act, a trade secret can be a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique or process. The information has to get independent economic value from not being generally known or readily ascertainable by proper means, and its owner has to make reasonable efforts to keep it secret.
Questions people in Minot ask
What does a North Dakota trademark registration give a business?
A North Dakota trademark or service mark is registered with the Secretary of State through a signed application. The application names the owner, the goods or services and their class, and the dates of first use anywhere and in North Dakota, and it includes a statement of ownership and a specimen or facsimile of the mark in duplicate. A registration runs ten years from the registration date and can be renewed for further ten year periods. Its main uses are a public state record, proof of registration in state court, and the state remedies of injunction, profits and damages in chapter 47-22.
How does North Dakota treat noncompete agreements?
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 stated exceptions: one for the sale of a business’s goodwill, and one for owners who agree not to compete around a dissolution, a dissociation or the sale of an ownership interest. An attorney should confirm how that statute applies to any agreement you have been asked to sign.
Get matched with an attorney
Before a first conversation, write down the dates on which you created, shared, sold or published the work, and list any agreement that touches it, such as a university arrangement or a contract with a client. For the statewide picture, see North Dakota intellectual property attorneys, and Velva has a page of its own. To start, you can get matched with an intellectual property attorney.
Facing an infringement dispute in Minot? Find out where your matter stands.
Related Intellectual Property Pages
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to bring a trade secret claim in North Dakota?
A claim for misappropriation under North Dakota’s Uniform Trade Secrets Act must be brought within three years after the misappropriation is discovered or should have been discovered with reasonable diligence, and a continuing misappropriation counts as a single claim. An attorney can tell you when your own three years began.
How far back can I recover for patent infringement, and how long do I have to sue on a copyright?
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)).
Can a patent infringement claim be filed in a North Dakota state court?
No. A patent claim is filed in federal court and nowhere else (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)). The District of North Dakota’s county list places Ward County in the Western Division, and an attorney should confirm the court before anything is filed.
What is Start Up Minot?
Start Up Minot is run by the Minot Area Chamber EDC. It includes a ten week cohort class and a monthly morning networking event at the Carnegie Center downtown, and the page for 2026 lists a cohort starting September 16, 2026.
Where on the Minot State University campus are the research and entrepreneurship offices?
The Office of Sponsored Programs is listed in room 216A of Memorial at 500 University Avenue West, and the Severson Entrepreneurship Academy has an office in Old Main 304. The sponsored programs office is a research office, and its page does not describe it as a technology transfer office.
Talk to an Attorney About Your Minot Matter
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.
