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Your Cottonwood Heights Intellectual Property Attorney
Intellectual property law splits into four main areas, patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets, and each has its own rules on where a case is filed and how long you have. The sections below explain those rules for a matter arising in Cottonwood Heights. You will find the quick answers first, then the definitions, deadlines, registration, the courts, state law, and the basic elements of infringement claims, with the statute behind each point. An attorney who handles intellectual property matters can tell you which of these rules apply to your situation.
Deadlines and Courts: The Short Version
- Patent claims are filed in federal court only (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)), and the six-year damages limit in 35 U.S.C. 286 makes early action important.
- Even an unregistered mark can be protected against false designation of origin, through a civil action by anyone who believes they are likely to be damaged (15 U.S.C. 1125(a)(1)).
- Three years to bring a copyright claim (17 U.S.C. 507(b)), and federal district courts have original jurisdiction over copyright claims (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)).
- Trade secrets get a federal civil action 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)(1)), filed in federal district court (18 U.S.C. 1836(c)).
- A federal case from Cottonwood Heights goes to the District of Utah (28 U.S.C. 125), which sits in Salt Lake City and Ogden.
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, and Trade Secrets Compared
Inventions are the domain of patent law. The categories the statute names are processes, machines, manufactures, and compositions of matter (35 U.S.C. 101), and the patent term ends 20 years from the filing date of the application (35 U.S.C. 154(a)(2)).
A trademark identifies and distinguishes goods and their source. The statute defines it as any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination, used by a person, or which a person has a bona fide intention to use in commerce and applies to register, to identify and distinguish that person’s goods from those manufactured or sold by others and to indicate the source (15 U.S.C. 1127). A service mark does the same for services.
Copyright protects original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression (17 U.S.C. 102(a)), such as literary, musical, dramatic, and pictorial works, motion pictures, sound recordings, and architectural works. It never extends to an idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery (17 U.S.C. 102(b)).
Trade secret protection depends on two things: the owner took reasonable measures to keep the information secret, and the information has independent economic value because it is not generally known or readily ascertainable (18 U.S.C. 1839(3)). Formulas, methods, processes, programs, and codes can all qualify.
Filing Deadlines and Damages Limits
For copyright infringement, the statute sets three years from when the claim accrued (17 U.S.C. 507(b)), and registration or a refusal of registration must come before suit on a United States work (17 U.S.C. 411(a)).
Trade secret claims under federal law must be filed within three years of discovery, or of when reasonable diligence would have revealed the misappropriation, and continuing misappropriation is one claim (18 U.S.C. 1836(d)).
Patent infringement damages reach back at most six years before the complaint (35 U.S.C. 286), so a suspected infringement is worth reviewing promptly.
A Utah state-law claim brings its own deadline and its own accrual rule. Both come from Utah statutes and court decisions and should be reviewed by an attorney at the start of the matter.
Protecting your work in Cottonwood Heights? Get matched with an attorney now.
Steps That Strengthen a Claim Before It Is Needed
The Lanham Act sets two routes to the principal register: use in commerce (15 U.S.C. 1051(a)(1)) and a bona fide intention to use (15 U.S.C. 1051(b)(1)). Each requires an application, a verified statement, and the prescribed fee.
A Utah business can ask an attorney whether a state-level trademark filing with the Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code is worth adding to a federal application. The provisions are in Utah Code 70-3a-101 and following sections, and the two registrations are separate.
Registering a copyright before there is a dispute avoids a delay later. The statute says no civil action for infringement of the copyright in a United States work may be instituted until preregistration or registration has been made (17 U.S.C. 411(a)).
For an invention, the patent term of 20 years runs from the date the application was filed (35 U.S.C. 154(a)(2)), so the timing of an application is worth discussing with a patent attorney.
Where an Intellectual Property Case From Cottonwood Heights Is Filed
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.
The federal court for Cottonwood Heights is the District of Utah, which covers all of Utah (28 U.S.C. 125) and holds court in Salt Lake City and Ogden.
State-Law Rules for Trademarks and Trade Secrets
Owners of confidential information in Cottonwood Heights can look to two sources: the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (Utah Code chapter 13-24) and the federal action in 18 U.S.C. 1836(b), which requires a connection to interstate or foreign commerce and has its own three-year deadline (18 U.S.C. 1836(d)).
A brand owner in Cottonwood Heights may have state-law options in addition to federal ones. Utah’s trademark registration provisions are found in Utah Code 70-3a-101 and following sections, and the filing office is the Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code.
Whether to plead federal claims, state claims, or both turns on the facts, and an initial conversation with an attorney is the way to sort that out.
Common Intellectual Property Claims
Patent Infringement
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.
Because the six-year damages limit in 35 U.S.C. 286 runs back from the complaint, delay can reduce what is recoverable.
Trademark and Unfair Competition Claims
Two federal provisions do most of the work in trademark cases: 15 U.S.C. 1114(1)(a) for registered marks and 15 U.S.C. 1125(a)(1) for misleading uses of any word, term, name, symbol, or device, registered or not.
A person who believes he or she is or is likely to be damaged can bring the civil action under 15 U.S.C. 1125(a)(1).
Protecting Creative Work
Creative disputes involve two threshold points: the work must be an original work of authorship fixed in a tangible medium (17 U.S.C. 102(a)), and the claim cannot rest on an idea or system (17 U.S.C. 102(b)).
For a United States work, registration must be made before an infringement suit is instituted (17 U.S.C. 411(a)).
Confidential Information and Departing Employees
Trade secret cases often turn on whether the owner took reasonable measures to keep the information secret and whether it has independent economic value from not being generally known, the two elements of 18 U.S.C. 1839(3).
A continuing misappropriation is treated as a single claim for the federal deadline (18 U.S.C. 1836(d)).
What a Court Can Award or Order
For patents, 35 U.S.C. 284 sets the damages floor at a reasonable royalty and lets the court increase damages up to three times the amount found or assessed, and 35 U.S.C. 283 allows injunctions according to the principles of equity, on terms the court considers reasonable.
In trademark cases, courts have the power to enjoin violations (15 U.S.C. 1116(a)), and a plaintiff who establishes a violation may recover profits, damages, and costs, subject to sections 1111 and 1114 and the principles of equity (15 U.S.C. 1117(a)).
Copyright: an infringer is liable for either the copyright owner’s actual damages and any additional profits of the infringer, or statutory damages (17 U.S.C. 504(a)). For statutory damages, the court may award a sum of not less than $750 or more than $30,000 per work as it considers just (17 U.S.C. 504(c)(1)).
Delay in registering can cost more than time. Infringement that starts before the effective date of registration generally cannot support statutory damages or attorney’s fees, with the exception in 17 U.S.C. 412 for registration within three months after first publication.
In federal trade secret cases the court can enjoin actual or threatened misappropriation, award damages for loss and unjust enrichment or a reasonable royalty, and, for willful and malicious misappropriation, exemplary damages up to 2 times the damages awarded (18 U.S.C. 1836(b)(3)).
Was your work copied or your brand used without permission? Talk to an attorney in Salt Lake County.
Preparing for a First Conversation
Write down a short timeline before the call: when the work or invention was made, when it was first shown to anyone, and when you learned of the problem. The federal deadlines above are measured from dates like these.
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.
For a copyright question, bring the work, dated drafts, any registration papers, and examples of the copying. For a trade secret question, bring a description of the information, who had access, and what confidentiality steps were in place, such as agreements and access controls.
Local Court Details for Cottonwood Heights
If you are protecting or defending intellectual property in Cottonwood Heights, a case that belongs in federal court is filed in the District of Utah. An attorney who works in that court regularly can explain how its schedule and practices affect the deadlines above.
If the matter involves a crash, a fall, or another injury, our Cottonwood Heights personal injury attorney page is the better fit. We also match people with intellectual property attorneys in Sandy, Midvale, and Murray. Looking beyond Cottonwood Heights? Our statewide Utah intellectual property page lists every city we cover.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as patent infringement?
Without authority, making, using, offering to sell, or selling a patented invention in the United States, or importing one into the United States, during the term of the patent (35 U.S.C. 271(a)).
What is trademark infringement?
For a registered mark, it is using in commerce a reproduction, counterfeit, copy, or colorable imitation in connection with goods or services where the use is likely to cause confusion, mistake, or deception (15 U.S.C. 1114(1)(a)).
What kinds of work does copyright cover?
Original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression (17 U.S.C. 102(a)), including literary, musical, dramatic, and pictorial works, motion pictures, sound recordings, and architectural works.
What is a trade secret?
Information the owner has taken reasonable measures to keep secret and that derives independent economic value from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable through proper means by, another person (18 U.S.C. 1839(3)).
Where does the federal court for Cottonwood Heights hold court?
The District of Utah holds court in Salt Lake City and Ogden (28 U.S.C. 125).
Does Utah law protect trade secrets?
Yes. Utah has the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (Utah Code chapter 13-24), and the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (18 U.S.C. 1836) adds a separate federal action.
How long do I have to bring a copyright claim?
Three years after the claim accrued (17 U.S.C. 507(b)), and registration must come before suit on a United States work (17 U.S.C. 411(a)).
How do I know whether I need a patent, trademark, copyright, or trade secret protection?
It depends on what you are protecting: an invention (35 U.S.C. 101), a name or logo that identifies goods or services (15 U.S.C. 1127), original creative work (17 U.S.C. 102(a)), or confidential information (18 U.S.C. 1839(3)).
Take the Next Step in Your Cottonwood Heights Intellectual Property Matter
If you are unsure where to start, the form above is the simplest first step. It connects you with an attorney who can explain your options in Cottonwood Heights and what the next few weeks may involve.
