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Greenville at a glance
Michelin’s careers site says Michelin North America keeps its North American headquarters in Greenville, SC, and the Greenville Area Development Corporation’s economy page names Michelin North America among the employers of Greenville.
Step one: identify what you own
Corporations, nonprofit corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships are filed with the South Carolina Secretary of State through its online Business Filings system, while sole proprietorships and general partnerships make no filing there. The state keeps no register of trade names or DBAs, and business licenses come from the county or the city. Inside Greenville, the city’s Finance Department runs a Business License and Revenue Center, whose page covers getting or renewing a city business license.
Step two: check what is registered
The Secretary of State keeps South Carolina’s register of trademarks and service marks, and a mark has to be in use before it can go on it. An applicant names the owner and the goods or services, gives the dates of first use anywhere and in South Carolina, and supplies three specimens of the mark as used; the Secretary of State’s trademark page says online filing is now available for all trademark and service mark filings. Registration lasts five years and can be renewed for further five year terms if the renewal is filed in the six months before expiry.
That record reaches South Carolina and no further and carries no federal protection, though it lets the owner sue under the state act for infringement or counterfeiting. Federal registration is a separate filing under 15 U.S.C. 1051.
Protecting your work in Greenville? Get matched with an attorney now.
Step three: know the court
Under 28 U.S.C. 121, Greenville County is in the Greenville Division of the District of South Carolina, and the court’s pages, including its court locations page, list 250 East North Street, Greenville, SC 29601 for its Greenville Division.
Patent claims belong in federal court under 28 U.S.C. 1338(a), but that statute speaks to jurisdiction, not to which district or division hears a given case. Venue rules decide where a particular suit can be filed, and some claims can be heard in state court, so an attorney should confirm the court before anything is filed.
Step four: watch the clock
Patent damages reach back no further than six years before the complaint (35 U.S.C. 286). For copyright, a civil claim must be brought within three years of accrual (17 U.S.C. 507(b)), and a United States work generally needs a registration, or a refusal from the Copyright Office, before an infringement suit (17 U.S.C. 411(a)). A trade secret claim under South Carolina law must be brought within three years after the misappropriation is discovered or should have been discovered with reasonable diligence, with a continuing misappropriation treated as one claim.
Step five: protect secrets at work
The South Carolina Trade Secrets Act protects information such as a formula, process, design, program or code that has economic value because others do not generally know it and cannot readily find it out by proper means, provided the owner makes reasonable efforts to keep it secret. Federal court is also open to the owner under 18 U.S.C. 1836(b) when the secret relates to a product or service used in, or intended for use in, interstate or foreign commerce. Noncompete agreements are a separate matter: South Carolina has no statute on them, courts decide them under case law and read them strictly, and an attorney should confirm the current rule before you sign or rely on one.
Was your work copied or your brand used without permission? Talk to an attorney in Greenville County.
Step six: use local help
The Greenville Area Small Business Development Center is at 225 S. Pleasantburg Drive, Greenville, SC 29607, and the South Carolina SBDC network lists it under Clemson University and names technology commercialization among the network’s specialized services. NextGEN, at 411 University Ridge, Suite 205, supports high growth entrepreneurs in Greenville and the Upstate with a Venture Mentor Service, Growth Labs, Fix My Pitch, office hours and workshops.
SynergyMill is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit makerspace at 31 Cessna Ct, Suite B, and its page says it offers capital equipment for inventors, artists and crafters to use and a springboard for small business startups, and that it has served the Greenville community since 2016.
Step seven: local organizations to know
Clemson University’s main campus is in Clemson, but its International Center for Automotive Research, known as CU-ICAR, is a separate campus at 5 Research Drive, Greenville, SC 29607. Its Department of Automotive Engineering offers B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. programs, the department page says it was established in 2010, and industry partner companies are housed on the campus. Working beside a university group or partner company? Have an attorney read any agreement on who owns shared results.
Furman University lists a Greenville mailing address, 3300 Poinsett Highway, Greenville, SC 29613, and runs The Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which holds pitch competitions and new venture accelerator programs for students and community founders. Greenville Technical College, whose main Barton Campus is at 506 South Pleasantburg Drive, runs the Gene Haas Center for Manufacturing Innovation, an advanced manufacturing training facility at 575 Millennium Blvd. The University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, at 607 Grove Road, has an Office of Research, and its students may work with researchers at the school, at Prisma Health, or at affiliated partners such as Furman University and Clemson University.
Step eight: industry context
Prisma Health lists its Division of Research at 701 Grove Road, Greenville, and its Research and Innovation unit awards seed funding to researchers who work with Prisma Health clinical faculty.
GE Vernova’s manufacturing investment page lists a Gas Power entry for Greenville, SC, where the company says it is planning to invest more than $160 million for capacity growth and new testing capability with hydrogen fuel. The same page also calls the site a Greenville County plant.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I register a South Carolina trademark before my business starts using the name?
No. The Secretary of State registers a trademark or service mark once the mark is already in use, not before, and the application asks for the date of first use anywhere, the date of first use in South Carolina, and three specimens of the mark as used.
Does a City of Greenville business license protect my business name?
The city’s Finance Department runs a Business License and Revenue Center for getting or renewing a city business license, while South Carolina has no statewide register of DBAs or trade names, and marks are registered separately with the Secretary of State. Ask an attorney which filing, if any, protects the name you use.
Where can a Greenville inventor build a prototype with shared tools?
SynergyMill, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit makerspace at 31 Cessna Ct, Suite B, Greenville, SC 29607, says on its page that it offers capital equipment for inventors, artists and crafters to use. Before you show an unfiled invention to others in a shared space, ask an attorney what you should keep private.
Is there mentoring for founders getting ready to pitch investors?
NextGEN, at 411 University Ridge, Suite 205, offers a Venture Mentor Service, Growth Labs, Fix My Pitch, office hours and workshops for high growth entrepreneurs in Greenville and the Upstate. Furman University’s Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship also holds pitch competitions and new venture accelerator programs for students and community founders.
What can a Greenville employer do if an employee takes a trade secret?
The South Carolina Trade Secrets Act lets the owner bring a misappropriation claim within three years after the misappropriation is discovered or should have been discovered with reasonable diligence. An attorney can tell you which claim fits and when the clock started.
Injury claims follow different rules, covered on our Greenville personal injury attorney page. Our coverage in this part of South Carolina also includes Mauldin, Greer, and Travelers Rest. See where else we help people across South Carolina in our South Carolina intellectual property guide.
Step nine: talk to an attorney
Before a first call, gather the dates you created, disclosed, sold or published the work, any employment, research or partner agreement that mentions it, and any registration you already hold. The page on South Carolina intellectual property attorneys gives the statewide picture, and pages written for nearby Mauldin and Greer cover those cities. From here, you can get matched with an intellectual property attorney for a Greenville matter.
