Alabama Intellectual Property Legal Questions

URLs do not infringe trademarks. The way you use a URL can. If you are trying to confuse Mobility Mall customers, you could be guilty of infringement. If customers are only confused because that business adopted a name for which you already owned a URL, then you are probably ok. If you are being threatened with litigation or demands are being made of you, you should seek local counsel who might be willing to review the matter with you (preferably someone who offers a free consultation) to make sure the facts surrounding your use of the URL do not create an issue. Good luck, Todd... Read More

The short answer is, change the name of your app. The standard for trademark infringement is confusing similarity. If the marks are identical (which you say is the case, both being XYZ) and if your goods are the same type as theirs and as is recited in their trademark registration, i.e., computer software, then your usage is confusingly similar and you are infringing their trademark. Put another way, someone going to an app store and seeing two apps with the same name has a reasonable basis to assume that they are being produced by the same company despite any differences in coloration, type font, etc.... Read More

I would need to know a lot more before I could answer your questions.  However, if you have not had substantial contacts with or activities in the other state (the Complaint will indicate what the basis is for personal jurisdiction over you). it should be possible to have the summons quashed for lack of personal jurisdiction. Are you sure that the summons is not seeking testimony from you relative to whom you got the counterfeit goods from?  There are so much unknown information that it would be best if you find an attorney in the state in which the case is pending to help you and not knowing the state, I do not know whether I can help you identify a suitable attorney.... Read More

A good trademark attorney could not give you a direct answer to this question here for a few reasons. First, this forum does not provide the opportunity for you to feed us sufficient facts to make a determination. Second, a bad answer can create liability for us, even if you never pay us. And third, a proper determination probably requires more time than most attorneys want to donate. I mention this only because if you need surgery, you don't expect Web MD to resolve your medical issue, and similarly, if you are facing a litigation issue, you should not expect a legal website Q&A page to resolve your legal issues. Trademark infringement is a legal question that is really based on one issue - is the consumer confused into believing there is possibly a relationship between two distinct businesses? If your use of the other company's registered trademark is likely to cause or does cause consumers to think your button comes from the trademark owner, you may be infringing their trademark. That question is not the sole question - defenses may exists and there are alternative ways to arrive at infringement - but it lies at the nexus of infringement analysis. Good luck... Read More

Generally websites are protected under copyright law and the person who created the website is the author and the owner - even if someone paid to have it made. That other person may have a license to use the website but the author is the owner unless there is a written agreement saying someone else owns it. There is an exception if you created it as an employee but that doesn't sound like what happened. He would have to show that he has ownership or some license to the website or that you breached some agreement if he was to win in a lawsuit against you. Since he didn't pay anything, it doesn't sound like he would be successful. However, anyone can sue over anything even if they don't have good grounds and even if they don't win. Often there are additional facts that could be important so you should consider talking to an attorney - or else wait and see if he sues you and then talk to an attorney.... Read More

Intervening rights in reinstated patents are provided by 35 U.S.C. 41(c)(2) which is reproduced in MPEP § 2501. No patent, the term of which has been maintained as a result of the acceptance of a late payment of a maintenance fee, shall abridge or affect the right of any person or his or her successors in business who made, purchased, imported, or used after the 6-month grace period but prior to the acceptance of the late maintenance fee anything protected by the patent, to continue the use or importation of, or to sell to others to be used or sold, the specific things made, purchased, imported, or used.... Read More

If you and your sister own property together, the interest you own is "undivided"; in other words, you do not own any particular portion of it that you can sell, because you must sell a one-half interest in the entire property. No one will buy that from you except at a huge discount to its value. It is extremely unlikely that you could do so without your sister's knowledge, although her consent would not be required. Any buyer would want some kind of agreement with your sister. If you want to force a sale of the entire property, you can probably do that legally. Needless to say, that would come to your sister's attention.... Read More

The situation as you set it out is complicated, and unfortunately happens too often when people have creative works made for them. If you have someone create something for you, if you want to own the rights in it you must have a written agreement or else the creator must have created it as your employee. First, did your friend have a written agreement from every creator that he/she would own the rights in the website? If not, then your friend only had a license to use the creation and can't stop any of the creators from doing anything they want with the work they did. Given the complexity of the facts you state, you would have to sit down with someone well versed in intellectual property to go over this because they almost certainly will need to ask additional questions.... Read More