Guide to North Dakota Intellectual Property Law
Protect your ideas with North Dakota intellectual property lawThere are three types of intellectual property laws in North Dakota. When determining how best to protect yourself with North Dakota IP law, consider the following:
1. North Dakota trademark law defines a trademark (also known as service marks) as protection for any word, phrase, symbol, design, or combination thereof, which you use in association with a product/service that indicates the origin of that product/service and distinguishes it from others.
2. Another form of ND intellectual property law, the copyright, protects original works of authorship, whether published or unpublished, such as literature, drama, music and other artistic renderings.
3. Patents are a form of North Dakota intellectual property law that protect the new and useful machine, method, manufacturing technique, composition or improvement that you invent.
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Use IP law ND to obtain a trademark
You can establish a trademark by either using the mark (word, name, phrase or design) or registering the mark through the registration process provided in ND intellectual property law. By using North Dakota trademark law, the court must often determine the rightful owner of a trademark when a dispute arises between two companies that use the mark without registering it and without the knowledge that someone else uses it. The term of a trademark lasts for as long as the mark is in use and you renew the mark registration as required. Like a patent, you must make sure that someone else has no claim the trademark you use and it is helpful to hire an intellectual property attorney North Dakota to assist you with the trademark process.
I recommend:
Go to the United States Patent and Trademark Office to search the national trademark database. Visit the North Dakota Secretary of State for further information on how to register a trademark in North Dakota. Search for a North Dakota intellectual property attorney on Justia.com by North Dakota county or city.
Copyright your original work with ND intellectual property laws
Under North Dakota intellectual property laws, only the owner of the copyright can reproduce, distribute or transfer ownership to the public (through sale, rental, lease or lending), and perform or display the work publicly. Authors who own a copyrighted work are free to give rights to others, but it is illegal for anyone to change or use those productions without the author's permission. Copyrights start at the time of initial authorship and last through the author's lifetime, plus an additional 50 years. To make sure your work has the best possible protection from plagiarism and reproduction, you should consult with an intellectual property attorney.
I recommend:
For more information on copyrights, visit the United States Copyright Office. Visit Neustel Law Offices, a Fargo, North Dakota intellectual property lawyer, for more information on North Dakota copyright law and registration practices. To assign copyright privileges to another individual, visit FindLegalForms.com to purchase and download a North Dakota Copyright Assignment.
Patent your invention through North Dakota intellectual property law
A patent gives you the right to exclude others from making, using or selling your invention. In order to have an invention worth patenting, it must be operative and useful. According to North Dakota patent law, while you may have a good idea, you must be able to show how it will work, through diagrams or prototypes, in order to obtain a patent for it. Before getting to deep in the invention process, it's important that you make sure there isn't a patent already out there for your idea. You should also hire an North Dakota intellectual property lawyer or patent agent to assist you in the patent registration process.
I recommend:
Research the national patent registration database on the United States Patent and Trademark Office website. Search recent North Dakota patent applications at FreshPatents.com. Visit the United States Patent and Trademark Office website to search for a registered ND intellectual property attorney.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide- Be sure that you register for the appropriate form of intellectual property law in North Dakota in order to protect your idea or creation fully.
