Missouri Intellectual Property Legal Questions

You may do anything you want with Hershey's chocolate that you have purchased.  You may not, howeve, use Hershey's trademarks in marketing your product.  So, you can certainly melt Hershey's chocolate, pour the melted chocolate into molds to create molded articles of manufacture and offer the articles for sale.  In general, you may not use Hershey's name or their other distinctive marks in offering your product to customers.   If you have more specific intellectual property questions for which answers are important to your business, I recommend you hire an intellectual property law attorney in your area for an hour or two of consultation.  If your business depends on it, the money will be well spent.... Read Answer

The key issue to your question is "likelihood of confusion".  If your product/service is in the same class as the registered trademark then the Trademark Examining Attorney with the USPTO will find there is likelihood of confusion and refuse to register your trademark.  The focus is on whether or not the consumer would be confused as to the origin of the product/service.  You do not want consumers to think that another company is selling your products/services.  You need to distinguish your products/services from others in commerce.   If you insist on using this trademark there is strong likelihood that the owner of the registered trademark will send you a cease and desist letter.  If you refuse to stop using the trademark they may file a trademark infringement law suit against you.   A straight forward answer to your questions is "No."... Read Answer

There are ways to sell this craft project that infringe and there are ways to do it that don't infring.  We sell package called the Five Pillars of Protection that we can use to provide answers to your situation and provide you legal counseling on what is and is not fair use or copyright infringment.  I'll be able to guide you through how to take advantages of the loopholes in copyright law, so you can move forward with selling your products. Looking forward to your reply. -Paul Roberts, Protect it! IP Contact info... Read Answer

Hi Kelly, No one can enforce a patent until the patent issues. However, it is possible if the patent issues, that the patent owner could seek damages for infringement dating back to when the patent application was first published. You could proceed with your idea and take the risk that the patent application does not issue or that the patent owner will not be able to seek damages for past infringement, but you'll need to evaluate whether you want to take that risk. The line 'someone started a patent four days ago' is suspect. Patent applications are not normally published until 18 months after filing. Maybe it published four days ago. If you are taking a chance based on how long you expect the application to be pending, you should verify the filing date. State of residence does not influence any element of this question. Patents on apps are hard to come by. I would suggest meeting with a patent attorney, at least in a consultation, to discuss your idea and whether or not it is patentable.   Good luck, Todd... Read Answer

Sometimes the issue is control - controlling your brand, controlling your image, etc. When you start posting his work, you take away some of his control. He can stop you from distributing his work online. He is reasserting his control. You can try to work out an arrangement that addresses his concerns, but otherwise you need to be a fan without distributing his work.... Read Answer

You have two potential problems. First the owner of the earlier website could seek to take the domain away from you if you are, e.g. competiting with the earlier owner. Second, if you are using a registered trademark in your domain name, not only can the trademark owner seek to take the domain away from you, but they could take action against you as an infringer if your websit uses the trademark in a manner that could be considered to likely be confusing with regard to their use on for the covered product. It would be best if you chose a different trademark, and without knowing substantiall more about the other parties and their uses as well as you contemplated website, I cannot give you any diffinitive advice.... Read Answer

I'm not familar with that site and cannot find clear evidence that it is a scam. I would agree it sounds fishy. http://www.justanswer.com/intellectual-property-law/4mq3e-e-mail-isp-saying-copyrightsettlements-com.html   http://dietrolldie.com/2012/06/12/ceg-monetization-church-of-the-bootyism-2/   Sorry I can't offer more. Todd... Read Answer

Professional negligence by a doctor by not meeting the standard of care is called "medical malpractice". It is almost impossible for a non-doctor to determine the appropriate standard of care, and these matters are very fact specific. You should assemble all your medical records and consult a medical malpractice attorney where you reside.... Read Answer

Anyone can sue anyone for anything. Disputes frequently arise because people are upset at being portrayed, even under a fictitious name, in a roman a clef or other work of fiction. Most publishers are very wary of such matters and require indemnity from the author against such claims.  ... Read Answer