NYC Intellectual Property Disputes Lawyer
The right to intellectual property, abbreviated as IP, has its roots in the first article of the United States constitution. IP litigation is about disputes over creations made by the human mind. These include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Scientific discoveries
- Inventions
- Art and artistic works
- Innovative processes
- Products
Intellectual property has both state and federal protections. This means that IP disputes can be litigated in both the federal and state court systems. There are also alternatives to litigation, including arbitration and other forums for dispute resolution. Even though IP rights are dictated by state and federal law in the United States, the global marketplace also makes them an international concern.
Specific laws have been drawn up to protect the intellectual property of people. These laws regard many legal avenues we take for granted, including trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks, and patents. The goal of the law is to allow an innovator or artist to retain ownership of their creation. That innovator receives the exclusive rights to the use of their creation, and they are the one who receives any benefits from it.
IP-related matters face litigation in a number of different forms. The first is patent litigation. Patents protect inventions, products, designs, and manufacturing processes. When patent infringement occurs, this means that an unauthorized party has used a patented invention. Since the unauthorized party did not have the legal right to the invention, the patent owner might become involved in litigation. There’s a specific type of patent dispute called a “Hatch-Waxman” litigation. In these cases, the litigation covers brand versus generic pharmaceutical products, along with infringement of the patents and processes used to make said products.
Copyright and trademark infringement are also both common. Trademarks can be any number of things, including names, colors, sounds, words, logos, or symbols. The point of a trademark is to identify a product’s source and distinguish it from other products. Copyrights, on the other hand, are used to protect authored works. These include writing, art, and music. When copyrights and trademarks are used, their holders have the exclusive right to the use of their work. If other parties use the work without authorization, litigation might occur.
Trade secrets refer to secret information that companies use for a competitive advantage. If a person misappropriates a company’s trade secrets, often by taking them without authority or disclosing them without permission, it’s common for litigation to result.
Another type of dispute that can occur is a licensing dispute. Licensing disputes might go hand-in-hand with any one of these legal protections. When a licensing agreement is entered, an IP rights owner sells the authorization to use their rights to another entity. Generally, the entity receives the authorization to use the rights in exchange for royalty payments or a one-time fee. If either of the involved parties fails to abide by the contract terms, breach of contract litigation might be started.
There are other types of IP litigation in addition to these common scenarios. One type is called trademark dilution, while another type of dispute regards pirated goods. Sometimes, disputes arise over domain names and company names. Unfair competition disputes can also be a type of IP dispute, depending on the nature of the competition and business. Even foreign and domestic customs seizures might be subject to IP litigation, depending on the circumstances.
If you or your company is involved in an intellectual property dispute, you should get in contact with an experienced attorney as soon as possible. Make sure you find an attorney who has previously engaged in successful intellectual property litigation. In many cases, your attorney will be able to come to an agreement with the other party or parties in negotiations. This solution is ideal because it keeps the case from dragging on, and it prevents you from needing to pay the expenses of a trial.
The protection of your intellectual property is important. Having your property stolen is a violation of your rights as both a United States resident and a creator. You have the rights to your innovations, and you should be able to reap any benefits from them without other people stealing your profits. Even in cases where your innovations aren’t pulling in monetary gain, you still have the right to dictate how and when they’re used.
This type of dispute, regarding the ways in which intellectual property is used, is common across all fields. Some creators will release their work to the public in the hopes that other people will improve upon it. This is especially common in the medical and digital industries. But even when a creator authorizes public use of their innovation, they still retain the right to deny authorizations. For example, a creator might say that their work can be used by the public for free, but it cannot be used for another party to generate a profit. If an unauthorized party then began selling the innovation or process for money, the creator would have grounds for litigation.
In today’s digital world, it seems easier than ever to steal the intellectual property of other people. Art and writing theft abounds on the internet. But you shouldn’t be afraid to share your innovations with the world for fear of your rights being violated. Get in contact with an intellectual property dispute lawyer to ensure that your intellectual property is used the way you want it to be.