Connecticut Intellectual Property Legal Questions

Ok.  Whats the problem?  You can do this.  Are you planning on scaling this buisness.  You will have many other concerns if you are.  Please feel free to contact my firm if you need help with corporate governance or setting up your LLC to create a safe way to sell your wares. 203.870-6700.... Read More

Did you commission the drawing with a written agreement, and if so, did the agreement make it clear that this was a "work for hire?"  Copyright law states that an independent contractor will own whatever he/she is commissioned to create unless there is a written agreement to the contrary. Best, Lisa Dunner... Read More

The short answer is maybe or maybe not, depending on the scope of the claims in your earlier patent. If thos claims cover the later version, it will protect it, but if the do not, it will not. The comments in an obviousness rejection relative to the later version have no effect on whether or not your prior patent covers the later version.... Read More

Try the folks at http://slsct.org/. They will try to help you get legal assistance for your issue at a price you can afford. Every state has legal assistance programs that provide low cost legal resources for folks that cannot afford the fees most attorneys charge. The counsel tend to be younger and seeking to develop experience. Good luck, Todd... Read More

No one opens a sealed bag years later in a courtroom to present more than a hundred gigabytes of evidence to the court. You would have your attorney open the envelope in his office and then testify to the fact that he opened the envelope. There is no such thing as 'undeniable' proof of existence. You present evidence, the other side attempts to deny/discredit the evidence, and then a jury (or judge in a bench trial) decides which side is more credible. They might claim the envelope could be steamed open. They might try calling the notary to the stand. The opposition will always seek some manner of denial. You could also create a bound book (not 3 ring binder material where pages can be removed/replaced, but a bound book made by Amazon or Shutterfly or whomever) filled with the files and have the book notoraized. There is always an element to electronic files that seems 'easier' to fabricate than paper. In that case, you would have the inside cover notarized. No case law for you - sorry. Good luck, Todd... Read More

You cannot patent or trademark or copyright what occurs in your body. Through medical privacy laws, there is some ownership of what happens in your body, in the aspect that you can control the dissemination of that activity. If you choose to disseminate it and it leads to technological advances, you do not have any authorship in the advances by contributing your body's information so you would not have any ownership absent a contract.... Read More

You haven't defined the (termination, liability, criminal charges, etc), so I'll run out the possibilities. The employee could be demoted or fired. Most employment is at-will and does not require cause for demotion or firing. The employee could be held liable for the financial damage. If you aren't paying attention and hit me with your car, a pure accident, you could be liable to me for the injury your accident caused. If a surgeon slips during surgery, a pure accident, the surgeon could be liable to the patient for injury caused. Similarly, an employer could sue the employee for damage caused by the employee's accident. The employee is unlikely to be criminally liable (either by fine or imprisonment) absent extenuating circumstances (high security clearance position, facts calling intention into question, court order protecting the secrecy of the information, etc.). Good luck, Todd... Read More

Find a local intellectual property attorney and ask them for a 15 minute consultation to discuss a complaint someone has filed against you. I know we are encouraged not to give the answer in this forum, but sometimes it is the right answer. You do not want to publish what you have or have not done to have this complaint filed, but that information would be very important to evaluating how to proceed. It would also be important to know whether the complaint was a straight copyright infringement complaint or something related to broadcasting rights. And what are they offering to settle as they may be offering something that is entirely inappropriate. If you are being sued, do not fool around with free advice online from individuals who do not have the details of your situation. Good luck, Todd... Read More

Certainly. You are under no compulsion to sign anything (unless you have previously agreed in writing to reaffirm your previous obligation). If you refuse to sign, you should consider that your employer will be under no obligation to give you a favorable reference or to cooperate in any future employment plans of yours.... Read More

You need to hire an attorney who practices intellectual property defense law. Based on the facts as you have alleged, there are defenses available to you but you have not properly asserted them. You need an attorney now. Please call my office at (203) 399-1320 if we can be of assistance to you.... Read More