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If you have an invention in Cheraw
Northeastern Technical College lists its address as 1201 Chesterfield Highway in Cheraw. Milliken and Company announced, on a release page that shows no date, that it has acquired the assets of Highland Industries in Cheraw and that the Highland facility will become a hub for its technical textile weaving and knitting capabilities in the region. If you improve a weave, a machine or a shop method at work, bring any invention, confidentiality or employment agreement you signed to your first talk with an attorney.
Looking wider than the town, a Charlotte Regional Business Alliance profile of Chesterfield County lists Schaeffler Group, Highland, CM Tucker Lumber Companies, Chesco Services, CampBo, Apollo Valves and A.O. Smith among the county’s main employers. The same profile names production technology and heavy machinery and downstream metal products among the county’s industry clusters. The profile covers the whole county and does not say which of those employers are in Cheraw.
The town requires a business license for anyone doing business in Cheraw, and the Town of Cheraw business license page says it is issued on the Standardized Business License application through the Town Clerk’s Office at 200 Market Street. That page shows no date; it describes a license that runs from May 1 to April 30 each year and can be renewed online, by mail or at Town Hall.
Search first, then decide what to file
Before filing anything, check whether a name is already taken. For business names, the South Carolina Secretary of State takes filings for corporations, nonprofit corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships, and it offers online searches through its Business Filings system. Sole proprietorships and general partnerships do not file there, and the office does not register DBA or trade names.
Once a name or logo is already on goods you sell, it can be registered with the Secretary of State, and its trademarks page says online filing is now available for all trademark and service mark filings. The application lists the owner, the goods or services, the date of first use anywhere and the date of first use in South Carolina, and it includes three specimens showing the mark as used. That registration gives rights inside South Carolina alone and no federal protection, so if you ship beyond the state, ask an attorney about federal registration under 15 U.S.C. 1051 as well.
The South Carolina Trade Secrets Act covers information such as a formula, pattern, compilation, program, method, process, design or code that has economic value because it is not generally known or readily found out by proper means, as long as you make reasonable efforts to keep it secret.
University and lab connections near Cheraw
Northeastern Technical College is one of the technical colleges that make up the South Carolina Technical College System, its service area includes Chesterfield, Marlboro and Dillon counties, and it lists campuses in Cheraw, Pageland, Bennettsville and Dillon. The college’s website, which carries a 2026 copyright, says it is being updated. If your invention came out of coursework or a job at any school, ask the school in writing which policy covers inventions by students and staff, and show the answer to an attorney.
Protecting your work in Cheraw? Get matched with an attorney now.
Patent clocks and public disclosure
Patent damages can be recovered only for the six years before a suit is filed (35 U.S.C. 286). Under the South Carolina Trade Secrets Act, a misappropriation claim 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 one claim.
Before you show, sell or publish the invention itself, ask an attorney how that step could affect a later patent application. Keep dated notes of who saw it and when.
If someone copies your invention: the federal court division
Chesterfield County is in the Florence Division of the District of South Carolina (28 U.S.C. 121), and the court’s pages list 401 West Evans Street, Florence, SC 29501 for that division. A patent claim can be filed in federal court alone (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)). Federal venue rules decide which court can hear a particular case, so an attorney should confirm the court before anything is filed.
When a secret process is taken, the federal trade secret statute at 18 U.S.C. 1836(b) lets the owner sue in federal court if the secret relates to a product or service used in, or intended for use in, interstate or foreign commerce, and the South Carolina Trade Secrets Act offers a state claim as well. When a product name or logo is copied, the holder of a South Carolina registration can sue under the state trademark act for infringement or counterfeiting. An attorney can tell you whether a state claim, a federal claim or both fit what happened.
Questions inventors ask
### Can a former employer keep me from taking my skills to a competitor?
South Carolina has no statute on employee noncompete agreements, so courts decide these under case law and read them strictly, and an attorney should confirm the current rule before you sign or rely on one.
### Who in Cheraw welcomes new businesses?
The Greater Cheraw Chamber of Commerce, a membership group of local business and professional people, has its office at 221 Market Street. Its website, which carries a 2012 copyright, lists visiting new businesses and providing information about local, state and federal services and resources among the chamber’s functions, so check that the description is current.
Facing an infringement dispute in Cheraw? Find out where your matter stands.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a state trademark registration stay in force?
A South Carolina registration runs for five years. It can be renewed for further five year periods, as long as each renewal is filed within the six months before the registration expires.
What did Milliken announce about the Highland facility in Cheraw?
Milliken and Company announced that it acquired the assets of Highland Industries in Cheraw and that the Highland facility would become a hub for its technical textile weaving and knitting work in the region. Milliken’s own release page carries no date. If you work there and develop a new method, ask an attorney to read your invention and confidentiality terms.
Which court division do the federal lists give for Chesterfield County?
Under 28 U.S.C. 121, Chesterfield County is in the Florence Division of the District of South Carolina, and the court’s pages list 401 West Evans Street, Florence, SC 29501 for that division. Where a given case may be filed depends on federal venue rules, so confirm it with an attorney first.
Can I register a trade name for a Cheraw shop with the state?
The South Carolina Secretary of State does not register DBA or trade names, so there is no statewide assumed name filing. Corporations, nonprofit corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships do file there, through the online Business Filings system, while sole proprietorships and general partnerships do not. The Town of Cheraw issues its own business license through the Town Clerk’s Office at 200 Market Street.
Where does Chesterfield County send someone who needs a business plan?
Chesterfield County Economic Development, in the town of Chesterfield at 700 West Blvd., refers business plan help to the Small Business Development Center in Florence. The office was set up in 1987 and offers site selection and incentive help to new and existing businesses.
Every South Carolina city we cover is listed on our South Carolina intellectual property attorney page. Nearby communities we serve include Bennettsville, Hartsville, and Dillon. For a personal injury rather than an intellectual property question, our Cheraw personal injury page explains the South Carolina rules.
Finding the right attorney
A useful first meeting starts with a short dated record: when you first built or sketched the invention, who has seen it, what you signed with any employer or school, and whether you have sold it or shown it in public. For a statewide view, see South Carolina intellectual property attorneys, and readers in nearby Bennettsville, where Northeastern Technical College also has a campus, can find a page written for their town. When you are ready, you can get matched with an intellectual property attorney.
