Christopher Paradies's Answers

How long do patents last? Do they ever expire?

First, it is important to know what kind of invention is being patented: an ornamental design or a process, functional machine, or composition of matter. A patent on an ornamental design expires 14 years from the date of issue (not filing) in the United States. The ornamental design is not a functional, utility patent. Generally, when a person talks about the patenting of an "idea," the invention relates to functional features or processes of an invention. These are protected by "...

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Do patents become public after 20 years?

Karen's answer was very good. I would like to add that patents often expire for failure to pay maintenance fees. If not revived for unintentional or unavoidable delay in payment of the fees, the patent claims cannot be enforced. Steps to take: Determining the date of expiration for failure to pay maintenance fees or the running of the patent term, which may be 17 years from the date of issue or 20 years from the date of filing, plus any patent term extension granted by law. Check to...

Employee/Employer Intellectual Property question

This question cannot be answered without knowing more about your particular situation. Most importantly, an attorney will need to review any agreements that you had with your former employer. This may not be entirely straightforward. For example, employment agreements with universities often contain a provision incorporating the intellectual property rights provisions from their employee handbook. The provisions in the employee handbook can be very restrictive in the area of patent rights....

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I want to print a phrase on a wristband and I do not want anyone else to copy it do I need a copyright or trademark?

Slogans and short phrases that fit on a wristband are probably not protectable under copyright. This leaves trademark law. If the phrase is a slogan that is being used to identify you or your company as the source of the wristbands and is distinctive, then it may be eligible for trademark protection. If the phrase is a part of the product and does not serve to identify you or your company as the source of the wristbands, then the phrase is not being used as a mark and is not eligible for...

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If a patent number cannot be found on the USPTO website itself, is it expired?

One additional note. There are no maintenance fees for a design patent. When searching for a design patent, you might have to enter a "D" prior to the number on the patent, depending on the database used for your search.

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Can i name a sports team without trademark infringement?

The question is whether the use by your sports team of a name the same as or similar to another sports team would cause a likelihood of confusion with the other sports team. This is the question that is asked to determine if there is trademark infringement, and the answer depends on many factors. If a person would think that your team is affiliated with the other team or school, then the use would be likely to confuse. Is your sports team in the same geographic region? How distinctive is the...

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Who owns the intellectual property of a magazine, the editor, the editorial commmittee? the company licensed to sell the mag?

Just to let you know that there is no right answer to this question, absent an agreement among the parties, let me offer a different view of the facts. Under copyright law, all of the content in the magazine would likely be owned by the author, unless there is a written agreement to the contrary. In this case, the author and originator of the magazine is the university, if the employee was working within the scope of the employee's assigned duties while establishing the magazine. Of course,...

Does my LLC, protect me from Child Support?

I am not a family law attorney. You should raise this issue with your divorce attorney. But failure to pay child support is serious. Most states and the federal government have strong enforcement mechanisms for collecting unpaid child support. Operating an LLC will not shield you personally from child support payments in arrears. Courts have been known to lock dead beat dads up for failure to pay child support, until the child support obligations are paid, especially when assets are available...

Can I make & sell a similar product the company I work for makes & sells if Idid not sign any non-compete clause & no patent?

This is a difficult question to answer. Even if you did not sign a non-compete clause, you may have signed an employment agreement or may have another obligation to your employer to keep your employer's confidential information confidential. A national or state law may give rise to an obligatoin, or a union bargaining agreement may contain an obligation of confidentiality. Also, the question does not suggest that your employer is a former employer. If your employer is currently your employer,...

Who owns graffiti

The copyright would be in the original work of authorship. It could very well be illegal in some jurisdictions to criticize the state, but a treatise criticizing the state would be recognized as a work of authorship in most countries. The Gulag Archipelago is such a work. The copyright to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is recognized in this work of authorship, even though it was an illegal work in his home country and banned at the time. The work would need to have some degree of originality. Tagging...