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If you run a business in Summerville
At 315 Sigma Drive, a Summerville address off Interstate 26 near the Nexton development, the South Carolina Research Authority leases modular office space in its Applied Technologies Center. The Authority, a public nonprofit corporation chartered by the state in 1983, describes a 10 acre facility where tenants share conference rooms and use card reader access. In a shared building like this, ask an attorney what confidentiality steps your records need.
KION Group’s location page gives 2450 West 5th North Street, a Summerville address, for KION North America, says Summerville has been home to its headquarters since 2015, and says the products manufactured there include counterbalance trucks and warehouse trucks of the Linde Material Handling brand, alongside an independent development department and a track for testing forklifts. Horizon Scientific, founded in 1994, names 125 Varnfield Drive, also a Summerville address, as its headquarters. Its home page says it designs and manufactures temperature controlled equipment for markets that include laboratory, healthcare and research, lists product development and R&D among its capabilities, and operates an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited engineering laboratory. Should you work on a product for either company as an employee, supplier or contractor, have an attorney review who owns what you create under your agreement.
Protecting a brand name and logo
A South Carolina trademark or service mark is registered with the Secretary of State, and the mark must already be in use before it can be registered. The Secretary of State’s trademark page says online filing is now available for all trademark and service mark filings, and it still offers application forms to file by mail. Each term is five years; to keep the registration alive, file the renewal during the six months that precede the end of a term (S.C. Code Ann. 39-15-1130).
A state registration gives rights within South Carolina and no federal protection; owners use it to put a South Carolina record of the mark on file and to sue under the state act for infringement or counterfeiting (S.C. Code Ann. 39-15-1170). Federal registration is a separate application under 15 U.S.C. 1051.
Protecting methods, lists and know how
South Carolina protects trade secrets under the South Carolina Trade Secrets Act. Write down how your business limits access to its formulas, compilations and code, and ask an attorney whether that is enough.
Under 18 U.S.C. 1836, the owner of a misappropriated trade secret related to a product or service used in, or intended for use in, interstate or foreign commerce can also sue in federal court.
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Employees, contractors and noncompete agreements
Whether a noncompete holds up in South Carolina is a question for case law, because the state has no statute on employee noncompete agreements and its courts read these agreements strictly, so have an attorney confirm the current rule before you draft or sign one. Before a contractor designs a logo, writes code or drafts a manual for you, ask an attorney who will own the finished work and what the written agreement should say about it.
What the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina handles
The three counties tied to Summerville, Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester, all fall in the Charleston Division of the District of South Carolina under 28 U.S.C. 121. For that division, the court’s pages list 83 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC 29401, along with the U.S. District Courthouse at 85 Broad Street, Charleston, SC 29401.
A United States work generally has to be registered, or refused registration by the Copyright Office, before an infringement suit can be filed (17 U.S.C. 411(a)). The division list says where the court sits for these counties, not where a given case belongs; federal venue rules decide that, some intellectual property claims can be heard in state court, and an attorney should confirm the right court for your matter.
Local programs for owners
The Town of Summerville’s economic development office, at 200 South Main Street, keeps a business counseling page whose list of sources includes the Charleston Area Small Business Development Center, Charleston South Carolina SCORE, the South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership, SCRA Technology Ventures/SC Launch and the U.S. Small Business Administration. The page shows no date, so ask each office whether its listing is current and where it meets clients.
Dorchester County Economic Development, at 402 North Main Street, lists Bosch, KION North America, Resonac, ZF Commercial Vehicle Solutions, Scout Boats, Key West Boats, Sportsman Boats and Sundaram Clayton on its page of Dorchester County employers, and the page does not say which of them are in Summerville.
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Common questions from Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester County owners
### What does the Town of Summerville require before a business opens?
Anyone doing business within town limits must obtain an annual business license before operating, according to the town’s business license page. The fee takes account of the NAICS code and gross receipts, each license runs from May 1 to April 30, and applications go through the town’s online self service portal; the Business License Office is at 200 South Main Street. The Secretary of State keeps no DBA or trade name register, and South Carolina has no statewide assumed name filing.
### Does my LLC or partnership have to file with the state?
Corporations, nonprofit corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships file with the South Carolina Secretary of State, which handles filings and searches online through its Business Filings system. Sole proprietorships and general partnerships make no filing there. Since a trademark application names the owner, ask an attorney which business form suits a new company before you register a brand in the company’s name.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the SCRA Applied Technologies Center on Sigma Drive a laboratory?
The South Carolina Research Authority’s page for the center lists office amenities, not laboratories. The page gives a Summerville street address but does not say whether the parcel is inside town limits.
Can a patent dispute involving a Dorchester County business be heard in a South Carolina state court?
No. Patent claims are filed in federal court and in no other court (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)). Ask an attorney to confirm the court before anything is filed.
How long do I have to act on a patent, copyright or trade secret problem?
Patent damages cannot be recovered for more than the six years before the suit is filed (35 U.S.C. 286). A civil copyright claim must be brought within three years after it accrued (17 U.S.C. 507(b)). 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 (S.C. Code Ann. 39-8-70). An attorney can tell you when your own clock started.
Will a South Carolina trademark registration protect my brand outside the state?
No. A registration with the South Carolina Secretary of State gives rights in South Carolina and no federal protection. Federal registration is available under 15 U.S.C. 1051, and an attorney can tell you whether your plans call for it.
Where do the town and the chamber send business owners for help?
The town’s business counseling page lists sources that include the Charleston Area Small Business Development Center and Charleston South Carolina SCORE. The Greater Summerville/Dorchester County Chamber of Commerce, at 402 North Main Street, lists SCORE, the South Carolina SBDC, Dorchester County Economic Development and the state’s small and minority business certification office among its resources for members. Bring questions about who owns a name, design or process to an attorney instead.
You can browse every South Carolina city we cover in our South Carolina intellectual property attorney directory. If your matter involved another town in the area, see our pages for North Charleston, Goose Creek, and Charleston. If your matter is an injury claim instead of an intellectual property dispute, see our Summerville personal injury page.
Talk to an attorney in the network
Gather the dates when your product, name or process was first used, the agreements you hold with staff, contractors and customers, and a short account of what happened, and bring them to your first conversation. Statewide information sits under South Carolina intellectual property attorneys, and readers in nearby North Charleston have a page written for that city. When your papers are ready, you can get matched with an intellectual property attorney.
