Colorado Intellectual Property Legal Questions

Theft of intellectual property is in the legal category of "tort".  The statute of limitations for a tort suit begins usually when the harm is discoverd.  If you discovered the theft farther back than your state's statute of limitations, it's likely you may not be able to recover for theft of IP.  Your question says you are in Colorado.  The Colorado statute of limitations for this kind of tort is generally two years. Depending on the value of your IP, it may well be worth your while to hire a Colorado attorney for private consultation on this matter.  Getting a professional opinion on SOL questions should be relatively inexpensive.... Read More

Misappropriation of confidential organization information is a loss of intellectual property. This misappropriation is most probably a breach of your employment agreement. In some instances based on your planned disclosure to third parties, you may become criminally liable. Hire an attorney who has expertise in trade secret law and some criminal law in your ex-employer work location state.  Disclaimer: The response is general in nature and cannot be construed as legal advice. If you would like to have legal advice, then please consult any competent attorney privately to discuss your case and establish a proper attorney-client relationship. I only work through my website at https://affordabletrademarkattorney.com/... Read More

First, tradenames (company names) are not the same as trademarks and are trademarks only if used as such.  Second, rights in the US are based on use, not registration, so if you registered your company name prior to the filing date of the Madrid trademark application, you have superior rights to the name ABC and can oppose registration of the ABC trademark by the British company in the US. Furthermore, if the difference between the industry you are in and that the British company is such that a purchasor of the goods of your company would not be confused into thinking it is sponsored or made by the British company, or vice verse, there may be no likelihood that the British company could successful block use by you of your company name. I have greatly simplified the situation and you need to consult with a trademark attorney who can review the specific facts and advise you more accurately than is possible via this website.... Read More

Unless the confict involves a federal law, the California lawyer would have to obtain a Colorado lawyer to handle the matter. In the case of "intellectual property", if the matter involves a patent or copyright that is being violated, yes, that would be a federal issue that the California lawyer could handle (but to go to court in CO, he would need to have a local CO attorney involved). On the other hand, if the issues are contractual, even if "intellectual property", that would be a state issue that he could not handle since both parties are in Colorado (assuming there isn't language in the agreement requiring the agreement to be governed by CA law. You should consult with a local attorney who can assess the matter more fully than can be done via a site like this.... Read More

You have not provided enough information to properly answer your question. However, from a general standpoint, if the band has registered its name as a trademark with the US Patent and Trademark Office and they have been using that name longer than you, then there is a good likelihood that they could force you to change your name. If not, then whether or not they could do so would depend not only on the other band having been using their name longer than you, but they would have had to be doing so sufficiently close to where your band plays that people seeing your band's name would have been aware of the other band and have confused your band for theirs. Of course, the above is a simplification of the situation and you should provide sufficient details to a trademark attorney who could then advise you based on the specific circumstances.  However, a preliminary step would be to use the trademark search system of the USPTO to see if the other band has a registered trademark. The search system can be accessed at: http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=searchss&state=4801:xwajtv.1.1... Read More

Hi Steven, Has Zales refused? I would start there instead. I was having this discussion with another attorney earlier today. In some situations, you have to assume the risk to move forward and deal with the consequences if/when they arise. Production of one ring is not worth the attention of Warner Bros. I would be shocked if they responded to you unless you already knew someone there. The other way to go is to have the ring made and then deal with WB/DC if/when they find out and contact you. You'll be in poor bargaining position, but at least you will have someone at the table. If Zales won't do it, you can look for others. And one time infringement (which may be fair use defensible) is not unusual. Many people make their own costumes for ComicCon events and I never hear about any of them being sued. WB/DC does not act on every conceivable actionable fandom activity. Good luck, Todd  ... Read More

Publication of photographs falls within free speech in the US. To inhibit free speech, an opposing party needs to have a counterveiling right that supercedes your right to free speech. Photo releases are designed to resolve rights of privacy issues and rights of publicity issues, which are rights possessed by people. Structures do not have the same rights as people, as you might imagine. Unless you have a contract with the resort (which you may, depending on how private it is - similar to the contract on the back of movie tickets agreeing not to bootleg the movie), agreeing not to publish photos of the resort, I'm not sure what right they would have to prevent publication of photos of the resort. Good luck, Todd... Read More

Copyright requires a modicum of creativity. Further, copyright cannot be used to copyright functionality. On this basis, it is rare that a math equation fits within the bounds of copyrightable subject matter in the US. I have a t-shirt from Think Geek (or someone comparable) that has a math equation on the front. There are four lines that are used to simplify/solve the equation and the last line reads "i <3 u" (I love you, if you don't see the heart). The math equations on the t-shirt could be copyright protected. The copyright would not be protecting the math function, and would be protecting a textual message utilizing a modicum of creativity. Hope that helps, Todd... Read More

It is always possible that using a service like legal zoom your application was poorly done. 'Sport' is a relatively generic term in apparel and arguing about it is unlikely to move the argument in your favor, in my opinion. If Blockbuster were still alive and you tried to register Blockbuster Video Rental, you would have no chance for the same reason. The concern the USPTO has is that casual shoppers who like Kathy F Browns may not remember that name clearly, will see your brand, and think they are just recalling the name incorrectly. Attempting to overcome a likelihood of confusion rejection in this situation is unlikely to yield success (<50% IMO). If you wish to persist, there is a helpful 7th Circuit case that suggests common surnames like Jackson, Smith [or Brown] are sufficiently common that consumers will not be confused to think that two goods bearing the same common surname come from the same source. Search Peaceable Planet Inc. v. Ty Inc. Good luck, Todd  ... Read More

It is hard to win a copyright infringement claim over a single quote that is part of a much larger work. See: http://www.worldipreview.com/news/midnight-in-paris-suit-thrown-out-of-court. If I were making a book of quotations, I would be careful to make each author’s and each quote’s contribution minor relative to the size of the book. Beyond that, quotes that originated before 1928 are in the public domain, with few exceptions, and thus are safer than more recent quotes. I would be careful with the art work. A picture taken in 1870 can be digitized and/or revitalized in 2004 and that act can create a new copyright. Thus, any original photos of Mark Twain are likely in the public domain now, but the image resulting from preservation efforts may be copyrighted. Look for copyright symbols on any material you use and make liberal use of the search engine at www.copyright.gov to find registrations relating to any works you use.   Good luck, Todd... Read More

This question is more for labor law than intellectual property as the crux of the issue is the rights of the employee/employer. Employment contracts typically govern this type of situation and are commonly used for science and engineering. You do have a right to ask the HR person for a copy of your employment contract(s). You will want to show the contract(s) to an attorney versed in Colorado employment law. More broadly, without an employment agreement, the law does have 'default' settings for these situations. Inventors are said to own patent rights absent a signed agreement to assign those rights. All other IP created on the job is typically owned by the employer. Many of the rules in this area fall under 'work-for-hire' provisions. Relative to the work you brought with you, you would need to be able to prove that you brought it with you in order to reclaim it from your employer's possession. Good luck, Todd... Read More

First, it is noted that copyright attaches to a work upon creation of the work, and registration is only necessary to enforce your rights in court.  Had you registered your copyright within 90 of the May 2012 publication of the photos on the website, you could have been entitled to attorneys fees and statutory damages. However, since you evidently did not, you would have to prove actual damage to collect money, but could obtain an injunction against use of the photographs. The copyright would cover not only use on another website, but also printing out of copies of the pictures. You could send notices to the various website owners advising them that they are violating your copyright in the photographs and demanding that they be removed, but if they do not do it voluntarilly, you could contact whatever service is hosting the website if it is not hosted by the website owner advising them of the violations and asking them to shut down the website untill the pictures are removed and your last option would be to institutle litiagtion, which could be costly.... Read More

In addition to the points raised in the other answers, you should consider whether you want to (a) potentially have a legal fight right at the opening of your restaurant and (b) whether you want the potential long term consumer confusion that could arise even if the owner of the other restaurant does not complaint. It's usually a good idea to pick something distinctive that you can own without interference with other people's trademarks. In the end that will be more valuable to your company as an asset that a restaurant with a name similar to another restaurant in the area.... Read More

This is an extremely interesting question. As a general matter, in order for a work of authorship to infringe the copyright in another work, the late work must be substantially similar to the copyrighted work. This means that the expression (not the ideas, outline, plot, etc.) must be similar. In your case, there is simply no similarity between the novel and your album. To the extent that you have copied at all, you have taken an immaterial excerpt, and your non-commercial use is quite plausibly a "fair use" of that limited copyrighted material. It would be very difficult for the owner of the copyright in the novel to make out a worthwhile copyright-infringement claim against you, and it seems as if he or she would have little commercial incentive to do so, since there is no obvious monetary benefit that you are diverting from the author. A relevant and possibly more difficult question is a trademark-law issue. Since your work and the earlier work have the same title, the owner of the earlier work might assert that consumers are likely to be confused into believing that your work is somehow endorsed, sponsored or originates with the creator of the original work. This claim is probably relatively easily defeated by the notion that book titles are entitled to only very limited protection under the Trademark Act. You could further insulate yourself against this claim by including a prominent disclaimer on copies of your recordings. Thanks for a very fun inquiry. If you feel like it, email me and send me the details.  ... Read More

The potential risks associated with reprinting an email for instructional purposes are very low. The sender will not have registered his copyright, you will not be using the email for a commercial purpose, and the sender will not be losing any publication revenue from your use. If you are in doubt, you could include a disclaimer on your contact form to the effect that sending you an email using that form constitutes the sender's consent to your publication of the text.... Read More

Regarding the issue of whether accepting donations constitutes "commerce" for purposes of the registration requirements of the Trademark Act, the answer is probably not. "Commerce" requires a "sale." Since your plug-in is given away gratis, and is not conditioned upon any payment, no "sale" appears to occur. You could change this outcome by requiring a payment of any size -- as small as $0.01 -- before you transfer a copy of the plug-in. There may be an alternative way to address this situation by rethinking the "goods" as a "service," for which you collect honor-system payments later. I'm not sure what you have in mind by the "how do I offer it" branch of your inquiry. You can offer it under an unregistered trademark, if that's what you mean. Lots of marks are unregistered.    ... Read More