North Carolina Patents Legal Questions

First off, there is no set percentage of copyrighted material that may be copied by another not having permission from the copyright owner. In determining whether the "doctrine of fair use" applies to your use of these articles, a court looks at what the copyrighted work is, why you're using it (i.e. Is it commercial or non-commercial), how much you use, and any effect your use has on the market for the copyrighted work. Some examples of fair use include quoting excerpts for illustration, clarification, and criticism. In this instance, more specifics that address the concerns mentioned above are necessary to better answer your question. Please contact an attorney with these specifics before continuing your use of copyrighted material.... Read More

The owner of the patent application cannot stop you from practicing its invention until the patent issues. Once the patent issues, you can be ordered to stop immediately and if the claims in the issued patent match the claims in the published application, you could be sued for infringement for your sales since the date of publication. You may also want to go to the www.uspto.gov site and look on their PAIR system to check the status of the patent application. That site will tell you when the case has been abandoned or allowed. I can't advise you whether you should stay clear or keep selling. I would suggest you consider this information and take the action you believe is most logical based on the facts at your disposal. Good luck, Todd... Read More