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If you have an invention in Mauldin
Mount Vernon Mills, which describes itself as a manufacturer of textile, chemical and related products, says it is headquartered in Mauldin and lists 503 S. Main Street there as its contact address; its core products include denim, flame resistant fabrics, and textile sizing and finishing chemicals. BASF names a manufacturing site at 1520 Old Stage Road, Mauldin, SC 29662 in its list of South Carolina chemical operations.
Old Stage Road comes up a second time in a March 15, 2017 release from the South Carolina Governor’s office. In it, the release said that MP Husky, which makes cable tray and cable bus, would build a 150,000 square foot facility at 1400 Old Stage Road in Mauldin. The plan described in that announcement put manufacturing under the same roof as engineering, design and in house lab testing. That is how the company’s intentions read in 2017; this page does not say what stands or operates at the address today.
If you signed papers about inventions when you were hired, pull out the offer letter and anything titled confidentiality or invention assignment, and have an attorney read them before you file in your own name. An inventor working alone should still keep notes: what the idea does, the date it first worked, everyone who has seen it, and any sale or offer so far.
Search first, then decide what to file
Before packaging or a website goes out, look for anyone already using the same or a confusingly close name for similar goods. At the state level, the Secretary of State’s online Business Filings system lets you search the corporations, nonprofit corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships that file there. Sole proprietors and general partnerships file nothing with that office.
Mauldin requires a business license for every business located in the city or doing business in it, and the city’s business license page lists an office address of 5 East Butler Road for the Business and Development Department. Renewals fall due by April 30.
Also on Butler Road, the Greater Mauldin Chamber of Commerce keeps its office at 101 East Butler Road. The chamber is a nonprofit chartered on October 19, 1982 to promote the business interests of the City of Mauldin.
University and lab connections near Mauldin
Greenville Technical College says its Brashier Campus, at 1830 West Georgia Road in Simpsonville, serves Mauldin along with Simpsonville and Fountain Inn. If an idea grew out of a class or a research job, get the school’s invention policy in writing and show it, with any agreement you signed, to an attorney.
Protecting your work in Mauldin? Get matched with an attorney now.
Patent clocks and public disclosure
Under 35 U.S.C. 286, money damages for patent infringement reach back no further than six years before the complaint is filed.
A civil copyright action has to begin within three years after the claim accrued (17 U.S.C. 507(b)). For a United States work, the Copyright Office generally must have registered the work, or refused to, before an infringement suit can be filed (17 U.S.C. 411(a)).
The South Carolina Trade Secrets Act treats information such as a formula, pattern, compilation, program, method, process, design or code as a trade secret when it draws economic value from not being generally known or readily found out by proper means, and when its owner makes reasonable efforts to keep it secret. When a secret is taken, the Act gives the owner three years from the time the misappropriation is discovered, or should have been discovered with reasonable diligence, to bring a claim, and a misappropriation that continues over time is still a single claim.
Ask an attorney before any demonstration, sale or publication how that step could affect a future patent application and anything you mean to keep confidential.
If someone copies your invention: the federal court division
Mauldin sits in Greenville County, which the federal statute at 28 U.S.C. 121 assigns to the Greenville Division of the District of South Carolina. For that division, the court’s pages list 250 East North Street, Greenville, SC 29601. Patent infringement belongs to the federal courts alone (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)). An attorney should confirm the right court before anything is filed.
Trademarks can be registered with the federal government under 15 U.S.C. 1051. Under 18 U.S.C. 1836(b), the owner of a misappropriated trade secret can sue in federal court when the secret relates to a product or service used in, or intended for use in, interstate or foreign commerce. Keep photos or samples of the copy, a note of where and when you found it, and any messages with the people involved.
Questions inventors ask
### Does a South Carolina trademark registration protect a name in other states?
It does not. Registration with the South Carolina Secretary of State gives rights inside South Carolina and no federal protection. A mark must already be in use before the state registers it, and the application lists the owner, the goods or services, the dates of first use anywhere and in South Carolina, and 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, and it still offers forms for filing by mail. A registration runs five years and can be renewed for successive five year periods by filing within the six months before it expires. Owners rely on it to place a South Carolina record of the mark on file and to bring a claim under the state act for infringement or counterfeiting.
### Can a noncompete from a past employer keep me from building my product?
South Carolina has no statute governing employee noncompete agreements, which leaves them to case law, where courts construe them narrowly against the employer, so have an attorney check the current rule against the exact agreement you signed.
Was your work copied or your brand used without permission? Talk to an attorney in Greenville County.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a patent infringement claim be brought in a South Carolina state court?
No. A patent claim can be filed in federal court and not in a state court (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)). If you also have claims under South Carolina law, ask an attorney which court fits each one.
How much time does South Carolina allow to sue over a stolen trade secret?
The South Carolina Trade Secrets Act allows three years, counted from when the misappropriation was discovered or reasonably should have been, and misuse that continues over time counts as one claim. When the secret relates to a product or service used in, or intended for use in, interstate or foreign commerce, 18 U.S.C. 1836(b) also opens a federal court claim. An attorney can pin down when your own three years began.
By what date must a Mauldin business license be renewed?
The City of Mauldin sets the renewal deadline at April 30. Every business located in the city or doing business there needs the license, and the Business and Development Department at City Hall, 5 E. Butler Road, handles it.
Can I file a DBA or trade name with the South Carolina Secretary of State?
No. That office does not register DBA or trade names, so South Carolina has no statewide assumed name filing. The office does take filings from corporations, nonprofit corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships, while business licenses are issued by a city or a county.
Which Greenville Technical College campus names Mauldin among the communities it serves?
The Brashier Campus does. Greenville Technical College says that campus, at 1830 West Georgia Road, Simpsonville, SC 29680, serves Mauldin, Simpsonville and Fountain Inn. The campus is in Simpsonville rather than in Mauldin.
If the matter involves a crash, a fall, or another injury, our Mauldin personal injury attorney page is the better fit. Nearby communities we serve include Greenville, Greer, and Travelers Rest. Our South Carolina intellectual property hub brings together the state’s rules and every city page in one place.
Finding the right attorney
Look for an attorney who handles the kind of protection your invention needs, and bring your notes, search results and any employer or school papers to the first conversation. The page for South Carolina intellectual property attorneys covers the whole state. Neighbors in Greenville and Greer each have a page of their own, and anyone outside South Carolina can begin with intellectual property attorneys across the country. Whenever you are ready, you can get matched with an intellectual property attorney.
