Kansas City Intellectual Property Litigation Lawyers

At Rouse Hendricks German May PC, our intellectual property attorneys understand how to prepare and try cases involving intellectual property rights, including patent rights litigation, patent infringement, trademark violations, and copyright issues.

To assist you in understanding some of the issues that may arise in patent litigation or other intellectual property disputes, we are providing you with the following information regarding intellectual property law. If you have any questions regarding the information provided below, or if you have an intellectual property dispute you wish to discuss, please contact one of our IP litigation attorneys and schedule a confidential consultation to determine how may be able to assist you.

Intellectual Property - An Overview

Intellectual property law regulates the reproduction of creative and original works. When a work qualifies for protection, its author or creator has the right to exclude others from copying, distributing or otherwise using the work for economic benefit. Generally, intellectual property can be transferred, regulated and protected like other forms of property. The four primary areas of intellectual property are:

• Copyright: protects an original work of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression, such as a book, computer program, graphic artwork or motion picture
• Patent: protects a novel, useful and non-obvious invention, process or design
• Trade secret: protects confidential business information, including a computer programming code or other business formula, that gives its owner an advantage over other businesses
• Trademark: protects a word, symbol, name or other designation of a product or service

If you have questions about copyrights, patents, trade secrets or trademarks, contact an experienced intellectual property attorney.

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Copyright

A copyright grants its owner exclusive rights in an original work of authorship, including the right to reproduce the work; the right to adapt the work or to prepare derivative works; the right to distribute copies of the work to the public; and the right to publicly perform or display the work. The work must exist in a tangible medium of expression, such as a painting, novel or CD. Copyright law protects the expression embodied by the work, but not the idea behind it.

A copyright provides economic rights in the work so that its owner can reap financial benefits from it. Unlike the copyright laws of many civil law countries such as France, which protects the author's moral rights in the work, US copyright law generally does not protect the author's right to ensure the integrity of the work. Contact an experienced copyright lawyer to discuss your intellectual property rights.

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Patents

A patent is a government grant of the right to exclude others from using, manufacturing or selling an invention, process or design for a specific period of time, usually 20 years from the date the patent application was filed. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is the granting organization. In order to receive a patent, the applicant must show that the invention, process or design is novel, useful and non-obvious. Seek the help of an experienced intellectual property attorney who will answer your patent questions.

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Trade Secrets

The protection of trade secrets is essential to the health of countless businesses. A trade secret is business information such as a formula, pattern, method or device that has the potential to provide financial gain for its owner. The secret is kept confidential because it is the secrecy that gives its owner the advantage over other businesses. Generally, employees with access to trade secrets have a duty not to disclose them in a way that harms the owner. Unlike patented items, trade secrets do not need to be registered with a federal agency to be protected. Indeed, if trade secrets were registered as patents, they would be available to the public — and no longer secret. Seek the advice of an experienced attorney to protect your intellectual property interests.

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Trademarks

A trademark is a word, symbol, name or other designation that identifies and distinguishes a good or service. Trademarks exist mainly for the protection of the consumer; the ability to identify the source of a good or service help the consumer to confirm quality and authenticity. Trademarks also help businesses prevent competitors from usurping the goodwill associated with their products and services. Trademark law's origins lie in the common law on unfair competition, but statutory law has codified and expanded these protections. If you have questions on how to protect your intellectual property rights, contact an experienced trademark attorney.

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