Intellectual Property Legal Questions

you statement of facts is contradictory.  First you state that you own the domain to the"x".com but then you state that another company owns the domain "x".com. Which is correct.  If you want to have a domain and a company name that is the same, assuming that another company owns a domain that is the same as your preferred company name, you need to either buy the domain from the other company or choose a name that is available both as a company name and as a domain; while the mere ownership of a domain by another would not necessarily preclude you from using the name as a company name, it might place restrictions on your use of the name, especially if the name is also used by the other company as a trademark.  I think you need to discuss specific detailed facts with a trademark attorney before making any final decisions.... Read More

Your needs exceed what can be done as answer to a question on this site. You have patent, copyright, trademark issues to consider, both in the US and in foreign countries.  You should contact an intellectual property attorney you can sit down with you an develop a strategy for protecting your company's intellectual property taking into consideration the amount of money you can devote to do so.... Read More

First, if the other company has a lower serial number than yours, then they filed their application first. The fact that it did not appear in the USPTO online system does not mean that it was not already on file since there is a delay before newly filed applications reach the system. However, who filed first is not the key issue since the US is a first to use, not a first to file, system. Thus, if your date of first use (assuming you did not file an intent-to-use application) is earlier than the other company's date of first use, if any yet, then you would have priority over the other company. Not mentioned by you is whether or not the other company has filed for the same goods and/or services as you have. If not and the goods/services are unrelated, it is possible that mark could be registered to both of you.... Read More

Profitting from someone's likeness or identity is likely going to violate that person's rights of publicity. If people are buying the shirt because of the fame of the individual and the shirt declares support/fandom for that individual, you run the risk of being sued for violating the rights of that coach.... Read More

The license agreement is still valid, but it could be terminated. It would depend upon the law of the State of Nevada and the language of the license. If failure to renew a business license results in dissolution of the company, the license should indicate that the license is terminated if the company dissolves. If the license is silent as to this possibility, then if the license is interpretted under the laws of the State of Nevada, you need to look to state laws to determine when the company's status results in termination of a license.... Read More

First, I assume by a "general name" I assume you mean a name that is generic description of the type of goods, such as clothes for clothing.  Such terms are not registerable/protectable. However, if you have a unique logo, it would be protectible/registerable with or without the descriptive term. Furthermore, if you file for the combination of the descriptive term and the logo, you will be required to disclaim the descriptive term apart from the combined mark since you cannot preclude others from using terms that are comonly used to describe or identify a particular product.... Read More

I'm not sure I agree with the premise of the question. If a employee develops an invention (discoveries cannot be 'owned', unless we are talking about the company maintaining the discovery as a trade secret), the invention is owned by the employee absent a contract. The company can get shop rights without special contract, but not ownership. A trade secret on a discovery would also require a special contract. The intellectual property of a college athlete is a different beast. These can include rights of publicity, copyrights, and other performance rights, but have not, to the best of my knowledge, ever included discoveries/inventions. The law treats different types of intellectual property differently. If you want to use this analogy to try to think through the recent legal ruling that college athletes are employees, focus on the entertainment industry. To the extent college sports is an entertainment business (and only a small portion of college sports are revenue generating) and athletes entertainers, their intellectual property is comparable to actors, singers, dancers, and other performers.... Read More

If you are correct that " this company has tried taking other people to court before and they have not been successful because the name and logo in question are public domain," then you have no obligation to comply with any of their demands and you could take action against them for unfair competition if they are truely attempting to enforce rights that they know to be invalid. I suggest that you consult with an attorney who can assess the situation and appropriately respond to the accusing company.... Read More

You may. Newspapers will have some fair use rights to publish newsworthy pictures that might otherwise be limited by copyrights. Assuming that is not the situation, you could have grounds for a lawsuit. If you registered your copyright before it was infringed, or after infringement starts but less than 3 months after you first published the image, you would have the right to statutory damages ($750-$250,000) plus attorney fees. If you register your copyright after the infringement starts (your copyright must be registered to initiate litigation), you will be limited to damages you can prove - either profits you lost or their profits - and no attorney fees.  In the latter situation, a frequent issue is that the expense of litigation exceeds the damages won from successful litigation, which makes pursuing litigation a net loss.... Read More