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Your Neenah Intellectual Property Attorney
If you are trying to protect an invention, a brand, or a creative work in Neenah, or you have been accused of infringing someone else’s, you probably want plain answers about deadlines, courts, and what each kind of protection covers. Federal statutes set most of them, so many answers can be checked. 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. Talking with an attorney who works in the Eastern District of Wisconsin can turn these general rules into a plan for your matter.
The Short Answers: Deadlines, Courts, and Protection
- Patents belong in federal court. Federal district courts have original jurisdiction over patent claims (28 U.S.C. 1338(a)), and damages cannot reach back more than six years before the complaint (35 U.S.C. 286).
- Trademarks can be registered federally and in Wisconsin. The federal register is set up by 15 U.S.C. 1051, and state registration is filed with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions under Wis. Stat. chapter 132.
- How long does a copyright last? For works created on or after January 1, 1978, the life of the author plus 70 years (17 U.S.C. 302(a)), with different counts for joint works and works made for hire.
- The trade secret clock runs from discovery: three years from when the misappropriation was, or with reasonable diligence should have been, discovered (18 U.S.C. 1836(d)).
- Which court? A case from Neenah that belongs in federal court is filed in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, which holds court in Green Bay, Milwaukee, and Oshkosh.
The Four Main Areas of Intellectual Property Law
For an invention, the question is whether it fits one of the four categories in 35 U.S.C. 101, and if a patent is granted, it lasts for 20 years measured from the application filing date (35 U.S.C. 154(a)(2)).
Under 15 U.S.C. 1127, a trademark is any word, name, symbol, or device, or a combination, that identifies and distinguishes one person’s goods from another’s and indicates their source, and a service mark performs that function for services.
For creative work, copyright arises in original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression (17 U.S.C. 102(a)). The limit in 17 U.S.C. 102(b) means the underlying idea or method is not protected even when the way it is expressed is.
A trade secret is 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)). The statute covers financial, business, scientific, and technical information such as patterns, plans, formulas, designs, methods, processes, programs, and codes.
Time Limits That Matter in Patent, Copyright, and Trade Secret Cases
Three years is the copyright limit in 17 U.S.C. 507(b), measured from when the claim accrued. Registration comes first under 17 U.S.C. 411(a), so the clock and the registration process can overlap.
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)).
Six years is the number to know in patent cases: infringement more than six years before the complaint cannot be recovered on (35 U.S.C. 286).
Do not assume that a state-law claim follows the federal deadlines. Wisconsin’s limitation periods and the point when a claim accrues are matters of Wisconsin statutes and case law, and an attorney can check the dates for your particular claim.
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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.
Federal registration is not the only route. Wisconsin’s trademark registration provisions, Wis. Stat. chapter 132, provide for a state filing with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions that operates separately from the federal register.
For copyright, protection attaches to original works fixed in a tangible medium (17 U.S.C. 102(a)), but before an infringement suit on a United States work can be instituted, preregistration or registration of the copyright claim must have been made (17 U.S.C. 411(a)). A work created on or after January 1, 1978 lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years (17 U.S.C. 302(a)).
A patent application starts the 20-year term (35 U.S.C. 154(a)(2)), and the invention must fit a statutory category such as a process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter (35 U.S.C. 101). An attorney can review both points before you file.
Where an Intellectual Property Case From Neenah 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 Eastern District of Wisconsin covers Winnebago County under 28 U.S.C. 130, and its places of holding court are Green Bay, Milwaukee, and Oshkosh.
Trade Secrets and Trademarks Under Wisconsin Law
Owners of confidential information in Neenah can look to two sources: the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (Wis. Stat. 134.90) 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)).
Federal trademark law under 15 U.S.C. 1114 and 1125 sits alongside Wisconsin’s registration system, which runs through the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions under Wis. Stat. chapter 132. The two operate separately.
The details of a state-law claim depend on the facts, and an attorney can explain which of the federal and state claims fit a particular dispute.
Types of Intellectual Property Claims
Patent Disputes
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.
Damages are limited to infringement within the six years before the complaint (35 U.S.C. 286).
Trademark Claims
Infringement of a registered mark means using in commerce a reproduction, counterfeit, copy, or colorable imitation of the mark in connection with the sale, offering for sale, distribution, or advertising of goods or services where the use is likely to cause confusion, mistake, or deception (15 U.S.C. 1114(1)(a)).
State trademark registration in Wisconsin is filed with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions under Wis. Stat. chapter 132, separate from the federal statutes.
Protecting Creative Work
Whether copying is actionable begins with what is protected. Copyright subsists in original works fixed in a tangible medium (17 U.S.C. 102(a)) and does not reach ideas, procedures, processes, systems, or methods of operation (17 U.S.C. 102(b)).
A civil action must be commenced within three years after the claim accrued (17 U.S.C. 507(b)).
Disputes Over Trade Secrets
In a trade secret dispute, both sides examine the same two things: the steps the owner took to keep the information secret and the value that comes from its not being generally known or readily ascertainable (18 U.S.C. 1839(3)).
The federal action has a three-year deadline running from discovery, or from when reasonable diligence should have led to discovery (18 U.S.C. 1836(d)).
Remedies in Intellectual Property Cases
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)).
Under 17 U.S.C. 504, the choice is between actual damages with additional profits and statutory damages, which the court sets between $750 and $30,000 for any one work.
The registration date can decide whether statutory damages and attorney’s fees are available at all. Section 412 of the copyright statute bars them for infringement commenced before registration, subject to a three-month window after first publication.
The Defend Trade Secrets Act lists the remedies: an injunction, damages for actual loss and unjust enrichment (or a reasonable royalty), exemplary damages of not more than 2 times the damages for willful and malicious misappropriation, and attorney’s fees in the situations the statute names (18 U.S.C. 1836(b)(3)).
Have questions about a patent, trademark, copyright, or trade secret? Connect with an attorney.
Documents and Dates That Help
Bring a simple chronology. When was the work created, when was it first shared or sold, and when did you first notice the copying or use? Many of the deadlines on this page run from those events.
Inventors should collect drawings, notes, and application numbers, and brand owners should collect the mark, examples of use, and any registration papers, before the first conversation.
Copyright matters call for the original work, dated versions, registration papers, and side-by-side examples of the copying. Trade secret matters call for a description of the information, a list of who had access, and the confidentiality measures that existed.
Neenah: Courts, Counties, and Getting Started
Deadlines and definitions are the same across Wisconsin, and the courthouse is not. A federal case from Neenah is filed in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and getting the timeline for that court from an attorney who practices there is a sound first step.
The Wisconsin intellectual property overview covers every city we serve across the state. We also match people with intellectual property attorneys in Appleton, Oshkosh, and Fond du Lac. If the matter involves a crash, a fall, or another injury, our Neenah personal injury attorney page is the better fit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can be patented?
A new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter may be patented, subject to the conditions and requirements of the patent statute (35 U.S.C. 101).
What is the difference between federal and Wisconsin trademark registration?
Federal registration is on the principal register through the Patent and Trademark Office (15 U.S.C. 1051). Wisconsin registration is a separate filing made with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions under Wis. Stat. chapter 132, and it does not replace the federal one.
Can I copyright an idea?
No. Copyright never extends to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery (17 U.S.C. 102(b)). It protects the original expression of an idea.
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)).
Are trade secret cases filed in federal court?
A federal trade secret action under 18 U.S.C. 1836 is filed in federal district court (18 U.S.C. 1836(c)), and Wisconsin state-law claims are separate claims.
Can a trademark claim be brought under Wisconsin law?
Possibly. Wisconsin law may provide trademark claims of its own alongside the federal ones, and which apply depends on the mark and the facts. An attorney can explain the options.
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)).
Can I protect software or written material?
Written material and other original expression fixed in a tangible medium can be protected by copyright (17 U.S.C. 102(a)), but not the underlying ideas, procedures, or methods of operation (17 U.S.C. 102(b)).
Get Started With an Attorney in Neenah
Questions about a patent, a trademark filing, a copyright registration, or a trade secret are exactly what an initial conversation is for. Use the form to get matched with an attorney who can answer them for your case.
