Oregon Patents Legal Questions

You can protect a detailed plan for a new and non obvious web service by obtaining a patent for it. The patent can then be licensed or sold. In the absence of a patent a nondisclosure agreement can sometimes help if you wish to negotiate with someone that is interested in licensing a patent for your web service, if it becomes patented. It may be difficult to commercialize your web service invention without patent protection.... Read More

This is a question for a family law attorney but just taking a guess, the medical insurance company should have to pay for the medical care given to one the people that it insures (IE your daughter) What if she had her own insurance and was having the baby alone? Do you think that she would not be covered? Why should it be any different just because you are paying her premiums? I would talk with your medical insurance provider again.... Read More

Your work is covered for free. As per the latest Copyright Act (1978 i believe) there is automatic copyright protection in your work. No fees required - however before suing someone for infringement you must file your copyrighted material with the US Copyright Office. You may want to look on their website under infringement and remedies for a full explanation.... Read More

It depends on the court (what state) and whether you are recording them from a phone or live. Generally speaking it may or may not be admissible in court depending on what context it is being used and whether they are over the age of majority and a family member or not. Basically, if it is important then consult with a local attorney.... Read More

Assuming a copyright registration was filed in the Copyright Office, "inappropriately" including the Producer as an author or owner of the work, the simplest solution is to simply refile the Copyright registration with the proper authors of the work. Once this is done, you may be in a position to sue for copyright infringement. The judge and ensuing litigation will sort out the validity of the two copyrights and whether or not the Producer is infringing by "using YOUR idea but switching it up slightly." However, to properly answer your question will require more material facts such as answers to the following non-exhaustive list of questions that must be answered: What creative contribution if any did the Producer "on your team" have on your original script? (The answer to this question may determine whether the Producer was in fact an author or not.) Were you obligated to include the Producer as a copyright author/owner by contract? (The answer to this question will determine whether the Producer has copyright ownership irrespective of authorship.) What precisely is "switching it up slightly"? (The answer to this question will determine whether the Producer's use of your work actually infringes your original copyright.) Of course, your first step should be to consult an intellectual property attorney to disclose all of the material facts for your case so that the attorney can properly research your facts in view of the copyright statutes and the case law that has interpreted and applied those statutes to similar facts, and propose the best strategy for rectifying your dispute with the Producer.... Read More

One option for your expired provisional applications would be to re-file them as provisional, assuming no events have occurred in the interim (such as sales or public disclosures of the invention) that would bar a new application. Re-filing would not receive the benefit of your original filing date, but you aer not throwing away the entire invention.... Read More

It all depends on the actual wording of the entire agreement that one enters into when they use the website. Without reading this i cannot tell you if it is legal and or binding on those that choose to put information on that site. If it is not then copying and using this information may constitute a copyright violation. Best to contact that person and ask for their permission. This is always the cheapest and safest route.... Read More

Tough question. You can try to find a patent agent that is working on their own. They often (but not always) are cheaper than patent attorneys. Generally i would say shop around and get a fixed quote. The bigger firms usually charge more than do the smaller firms or solo patent attorneys. BUT the only way you will know is to shop around. Also we are in a recession. Dont be afraid to set a budget and then ask if they can do the patent within your budget. Depending on the complexity it may be possible.... Read More

Patent law for software is the same as patent law for anything else. You have to file a patent application within one year of the earliest sale, offer for sale, or publication for the application to be valid (for a U.S. patent, other countries require absolute novelty). When we switch to a first-to-file system, you will want to file before publishing anything. You have to be an inventor to be able to sue someone. To be able to sue, the infringer must meet all the limitations of one of your "claims." The claims section is what defines, in words, what is novel about your invention. If you claim one part and a competitor copies another part, the patent will not help you. You do have to meet the "machine or transformation" test of a case called "Bilski" but that is easy to do if you hire an attorney who knows what they are doing. If you are also going to sue for copyright infringement, you will want to get a registration prior to the infringement for the possibility of enhanced damages. This might be what you are remembering. In any action under this title, other than an action brought for a violation of the rights of the author under section 106A(a), an action for infringement of the copyright of a work that has been preregistered under section 408(f) before the commencement of the infringement and that has an effective date of registration not later than the earlier of 3 months after the first publication of the work or 1 month after the copyright owner has learned of the infringement, or an action instituted under section 411(c), no award of statutory damages or of attorneys fees, as provided by sections 504 and 505, shall be made for (1) any infringement of copyright in an unpublished work commenced before the effective date of its registration; or (2) any infringement of copyright commenced after first publication of the work and before the effective date of its registration, unless such registration is made within three months after the first publication of the work. Copyright is a weaker form of protection and requires proof of copying. It is easy to avoid through reverse engineering.... Read More

Before I do this I would read your state's laws on Trade Secrets. Oregon has some fairly extensive ones. Also it depends on whether you were one of the inventors. Generally if you just are taking someone else's work product and then trying to capitalize on it by selling it elsewhere - you are looking for trouble. Why not get the OK from the first company.... Read More

This all depends - if the changed ingredient would be an obvious substitution for the eliminated ingredient as would be known by one skilled in the art, then NO, HOWEVER if the change in ingredients is not obvious and the new ingredient does not function in the same way to obtain the same result, then YES.... Read More

* literary works; * musical works, including any accompanying words; * dramatic works, including any accompanying music; * pantomimes and choreographic works; * pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works; * motion pictures and other audiovisual works; * sound recordings; and * architectural works.... Read More