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Your Norman Intellectual Property Attorney
A patent, a trademark, a copyright, and a trade secret are four different things with four different sets of rules. For a Norman business, artist, or inventor, the first step is knowing which one is actually involved, and this page walks through how to tell. Below you will find the key deadlines at a glance, what each type of protection covers, the steps that come before a lawsuit, which federal court hears a case from Cleveland County, and how Oklahoma law fits alongside federal law. These rules apply across Oklahoma, and an attorney familiar with the Western District of Oklahoma can explain what to expect there.
Deadlines and Courts: The Short Version
- Who can be liable for patent infringement? Anyone who, without authority, makes, uses, offers to sell, or sells a patented invention in the United States, or imports it (35 U.S.C. 271(a)).
- Trademark claims can go to federal or state court (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)), and Oklahoma’s own registration is a separate filing with the Oklahoma Secretary of State.
- How long does a copyright last? For works created on or after January 1, 1978, the life of the author plus 70 years (17 U.S.C. 302(a)), with different counts for joint works and works made for hire.
- Oklahoma has its own trade secret statute, the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (78 O.S. 85 to 95), and the federal action in 18 U.S.C. 1836 sits alongside it.
- Where is my case filed? Norman is in the Western District of Oklahoma, and that court holds court in Chickasha, Enid, Guthrie, Lawton, Mangum, Oklahoma City, Pauls Valley, Ponca City, Shawnee, and Woodward (28 U.S.C. 116).
Which Type of Protection Fits Your Situation
For an invention, the question is whether it fits one of the four categories in 35 U.S.C. 101, and if a patent is granted, it lasts for 20 years measured from the application filing date (35 U.S.C. 154(a)(2)).
Names, logos, and slogans that tell customers who is behind a product are trademarks, defined in 15 U.S.C. 1127 as any word, name, symbol, or device used to identify and distinguish a person’s goods and to indicate their source. A service mark does the same job for 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.
If the valuable thing is confidential know-how, the question is trade secret. Both elements in 18 U.S.C. 1839(3) must be present: reasonable measures to keep the information secret, and independent economic value from its not being generally known.
Filing Deadlines and Damages Limits
The copyright deadline is three years after the claim accrued (17 U.S.C. 507(b)). An owner who has not registered should treat registration as part of the first steps, since no infringement action on a United States work can be instituted before it (17 U.S.C. 411(a)).
For a federal trade secret claim, the three years run from discovery of the misappropriation, or from when it should have been discovered by reasonable diligence, and a continuing misappropriation is treated as a single claim (18 U.S.C. 1836(d)).
A patent owner who waits loses damages: under 35 U.S.C. 286, no recovery may be had for infringement committed more than six years before the complaint. The patent itself lasts 20 years from filing (35 U.S.C. 154(a)(2)).
State-law claims, such as a claim under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (78 O.S. 85 to 95) or a state trademark claim, have their own rules on limitation periods and on when a claim begins to run. Those are set by Oklahoma statutes and court decisions, so the dates should be checked by an attorney rather than assumed from the federal deadlines.
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What to Do Before a Dispute Starts
Registration on the federal principal register begins with an application and verified statement. The statute allows the owner of a mark used in commerce to apply (15 U.S.C. 1051(a)(1)) and separately a person with a bona fide intention to use (15 U.S.C. 1051(b)(1)).
State registration is a different filing from a federal application. In Oklahoma it is made with the Oklahoma Secretary of State under 78 O.S. 21 and following sections, and an attorney can tell you whether a state filing, a federal filing, or both suit your plans.
Owners of creative work should know that registration is a precondition to suing on a United States work (17 U.S.C. 411(a)), and that the duration for most later works is the life of the author plus 70 years (17 U.S.C. 302(a)).
Inventors should keep the 20-year term measured from filing in mind (35 U.S.C. 154(a)(2)), and should confirm early with an attorney that the invention falls within 35 U.S.C. 101.
Federal District Courts and Where They Sit
In practice, patent and copyright disputes are filed in federal district court (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)), federal trade secret claims start there as well (18 U.S.C. 1836(c)), and a trademark dispute can be filed in federal or state court.
By statute the state has three federal districts, known as the Northern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Oklahoma (28 U.S.C. 116). A federal case from Norman is filed in the Western District of Oklahoma, where court is held at Chickasha, Enid, Guthrie, Lawton, Mangum, Oklahoma City, Pauls Valley, Ponca City, Shawnee, and Woodward.
What Oklahoma Law Can Add to Federal Protection
Oklahoma has a trade secret statute of its own, the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (78 O.S. 85 to 95). A trade secret dispute from Norman can involve that statute, and the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act adds a civil action in federal court for a trade secret related to a product or service used in interstate or foreign commerce (18 U.S.C. 1836(b)(1), (c)).
A state trademark registration in Oklahoma is a different filing from federal registration (15 U.S.C. 1051). It is made with the Oklahoma Secretary of State under 78 O.S. 21 and following sections.
Choosing between state and federal claims, or bringing both, is something an attorney should decide after reviewing what happened and what proof exists.
Common Intellectual Property Claims
Patent Disputes
The basic patent infringement rule is in 35 U.S.C. 271(a): without authority, making, using, offering to sell, or selling a patented invention in the United States, or importing one, during the patent term.
The patent term is 20 years from the filing date (35 U.S.C. 154(a)(2)), so a case about an expired patent is limited to past infringement.
Trademark Infringement and Brand Disputes
Infringement of a registered mark means using in commerce a reproduction, counterfeit, copy, or colorable imitation of the mark in connection with the sale, offering for sale, distribution, or advertising of goods or services where the use is likely to cause confusion, mistake, or deception (15 U.S.C. 1114(1)(a)).
State trademark registration in Oklahoma is filed with the Oklahoma Secretary of State under 78 O.S. 21 and following sections, separate from the federal statutes.
Protecting Creative Work
Whether copying is actionable begins with what is protected. Copyright subsists in original works fixed in a tangible medium (17 U.S.C. 102(a)) and does not reach ideas, procedures, processes, systems, or methods of operation (17 U.S.C. 102(b)).
Keeping dated copies of drafts and finished work helps show what was created and when.
Protecting Confidential Business Information
The Defend Trade Secrets Act lets the owner of a misappropriated trade secret sue when the secret relates to a product or service in interstate or foreign commerce (18 U.S.C. 1836(b)(1)). Whether the information qualifies depends on the definition in 18 U.S.C. 1839(3).
The Uniform Trade Secrets Act (78 O.S. 85 to 95) may provide state-law claims alongside the federal action, with their own deadlines.
Damages, Injunctions, and Other Relief
In a patent case, the statute directs an award of damages adequate to compensate for the infringement and never less than a reasonable royalty, plus interest and costs, with increases of up to three times possible in the court’s discretion (35 U.S.C. 284). Injunctions are available in accordance with the principles of equity (35 U.S.C. 283).
For trademark violations, the Lanham Act allows injunctions on terms the court considers reasonable (15 U.S.C. 1116(a)) and allows recovery, subject to equity, of the defendant’s profits, the plaintiff’s damages, and the costs of the action (15 U.S.C. 1117(a)).
A copyright owner can choose between actual damages plus the infringer’s profits attributable to the infringement, and statutory damages (17 U.S.C. 504(a), (b)), and statutory damages range from $750 to $30,000 per work as the court considers just (17 U.S.C. 504(c)(1)).
Registration timing affects these remedies: no award of statutory damages or attorney’s fees is available for infringement of an unpublished work commenced before the effective date of its registration, or for infringement commenced after first publication and before registration unless registration is made within three months after first publication (17 U.S.C. 412).
The Defend Trade Secrets Act lists the remedies: an injunction, damages for actual loss and unjust enrichment (or a reasonable royalty), exemplary damages of not more than 2 times the damages for willful and malicious misappropriation, and attorney’s fees in the situations the statute names (18 U.S.C. 1836(b)(3)).
Facing an infringement dispute in Norman? Find out where your matter stands.
Getting Your Records in Order
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.
For a patent question, bring drawings, notes, prototypes, any patent or application numbers, and information about who has seen or used the invention. For a trademark, bring the name or logo, examples of how it is used, and any registration papers.
Copyright matters call for the original work, dated versions, registration papers, and side-by-side examples of the copying. Trade secret matters call for a description of the information, a list of who had access, and the confidentiality measures that existed.
What to Know About Cases From Norman
Norman matters that reach federal court are heard in the Western District of Oklahoma. Knowing which court you will be in matters because deadlines such as the three-year copyright and trade secret limits run regardless of the court.
Hurt in an accident rather than dealing with a patent, trademark, or copyright issue? Read our Norman personal injury page. We also match people with intellectual property attorneys in Moore, Purcell, and Midwest City. People searching outside Norman can use the Oklahoma intellectual property listings to find their own city.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is a patent infringement case filed?
In federal district court. The district courts have original jurisdiction of civil actions arising under patent law, and that jurisdiction is exclusive (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)). For Norman, that is the Western District of Oklahoma.
What is the difference between federal and Oklahoma trademark registration?
Federal registration is on the principal register through the Patent and Trademark Office (15 U.S.C. 1051). Oklahoma registration is a separate filing made with the Oklahoma Secretary of State under 78 O.S. 21 and following sections, and it does not replace the federal one.
Do I have to register a copyright before I sue?
For a United States work, yes. No civil action for infringement of the copyright may be instituted until preregistration or registration of the copyright claim has been made (17 U.S.C. 411(a)), with a provision for cases where registration was refused.
Does Oklahoma have a trade secret statute?
Yes. It is the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (78 O.S. 85 to 95). The federal Defend Trade Secrets Act provides a separate civil action (18 U.S.C. 1836), and an attorney can tell you which claims fit the facts.
Are trade secret cases filed in federal court?
A federal trade secret action under 18 U.S.C. 1836 is filed in federal district court (18 U.S.C. 1836(c)), and Oklahoma state-law claims are separate claims.
Can I bring both federal and Oklahoma 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 under Oklahoma law. An attorney can advise which to bring.
Why does timing matter in an intellectual property dispute?
Because federal statutes set fixed limits, such as three years for copyright (17 U.S.C. 507(b)) and for federal trade secret claims (18 U.S.C. 1836(d)), and six years of look-back for patent damages (35 U.S.C. 286), waiting can cost rights and money.
Can I protect software or written material?
Written material and other original expression fixed in a tangible medium can be protected by copyright (17 U.S.C. 102(a)), but not the underlying ideas, procedures, or methods of operation (17 U.S.C. 102(b)).
Get Started With an Attorney in Norman
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