Get free answers to your Intellectual Property legal questions from lawyers in your area.
I am in the planning phase of starting a business called Konnectabiz.com, which aims to connect small businesses with free resources. We plan to operate primarily in the United States with potential expansion internationally. We purchased the URL Konnectabiz.com, but we are concerned about the... View More 
answered on Mar 19, 2025
The short answer is it depends. The first question is going to be whether consumers are likely to confuse Konnentabiz with a Connectabiz. If there is a likelihood of confusion between the two, the second question will be which entity was using their name (or trademark) in commerce first. In... View More
I'm considering starting a brand called "Nuke Town Skate Co." that sells originally designed clothing, skateboards, and stickers. While none of our products would visually reference Activision's "Nuketown" map, I'm concerned about potential copyright or trademark... View More
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answered on Mar 14, 2025
There are multiple factors to consider. Using the name "Nuke Town Skate Co." could potentially run into trademark issues with Activision if they have "Nuketown" trademarked for merchandise like clothing, skateboards, or accessories. Even if your brand doesn’t reference the... View More
I'm considering starting a brand called "Nuke Town Skate Co." that sells originally designed clothing, skateboards, and stickers. While none of our products would visually reference Activision's "Nuketown" map, I'm concerned about potential copyright or trademark... View More
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answered on Mar 14, 2025
A court would consider several factors when assessing whether your proposed use of "Nuke Town Skate Co." might infringe on Activision's NUKETOWN name. First would be whether NUKETOWN, as used by Activision, actually functions as a trade mark, i.e. an identifier of Activision as the... View More
I have a patreon where I transcribe scenes (movies, television, video games, etc...) for actors to practice with. Would it be legal for me to add a link to a 30s-60s clip of the scene for reference if its unlisted-demonetized on youtube? Also, does the use of overseas media change anything?
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answered on Jun 19, 2024
Here are a few thoughts on linking to copyrighted content on Patreon, but please note that this shouldn't be taken as legal advice:
In general, linking to copyrighted material, even if it's unlisted and demonetized on YouTube, could still be considered copyright infringement... View More
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answered on Mar 20, 2024
If you suspect that a company is using parts of your patent without permission, the first step is to gather all relevant evidence, including details of your patent and the aspects of the product that allegedly infringe upon it. Consulting with a patent attorney can provide you with a professional... View More
answered on Mar 15, 2024
If someone is infringing your product or process, you need to see a patent litigation attorney.
The first thing that the attorney will do is to investigate whether the company is actually infringing your patent. By "infringing your patent", I mean that the company is making or... View More
answered on Mar 20, 2024
At least one of the independent claims (including each element of the claim) must be made, used, offered for sale, or sold for your patent to be infringed. If any element of the independent claim is missing, then they have designed a way around your patent.
The first step is to consult a... View More
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answered on Feb 23, 2024
When creating a competitive collapsible water bottle similar to Hydrapak LLC, it's essential to consider several factors that may limit your design. Firstly, you should carefully examine any existing patents or intellectual property rights held by Hydrapak or other competitors in the market.... View More
My spouse filed for a patent on an invention and began selling it with 'patent pending' more than one year ago. She let the application lapse because it was not selling well. Now, it suddenly started selling. Is there any way to protect the invention?
answered on Feb 22, 2024
It is possible. You will need to consult with a patent attorney and go through the dates of specific events.
If your first patent application (possibly a provisional application) was filed long before any of the time bar triggers (public sale or offer for sale, public use, public... View More
My spouse filed for a patent on an invention and began selling it with 'patent pending' more than one year ago. She let the application lapse because it was not selling well. Now, it suddenly started selling. Is there any way to protect the invention?
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answered on Feb 25, 2024
If the patent application lapsed and the invention has been publicly disclosed or sold for more than one year, under United States patent law, it may not be possible to file a new patent application for the same invention. The U.S. operates under a "first to file" system, and there's... View More
The t shirt is purple and says “welcome to the judgement zone” this is a twist on a popular gym franchise. We used the colors yellow and purple and the shirt features a thumbs down in the middle. We can send the design for review
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answered on Jan 18, 2024
When considering the legal aspects of your gym's t-shirt design, it's important to understand the concepts of trademark infringement and parody. Trademark infringement occurs when a new design is confusingly similar to an existing trademark, potentially causing the public to mistakenly... View More
The t shirt is purple and says “welcome to the judgement zone” this is a twist on a popular gym franchise. We used the colors yellow and purple and the shirt features a thumbs down in the middle. We can send the design for review
answered on Jan 17, 2024
Though I can't comment on your specific legal situation in this forum, I can offer some guidance on the fair use doctrines in US trademark law. In a combination of codified federal law and certain supreme court rulings, the development of a phrase or logo that parodies an existing, registered... View More
My husband and I own an excavation company. Recently, an employee from a startup company, owned by my husband's brother, visited our job site to watch a septic installation. Without our permission, he took pictures of our job and posted them on the startup company's website, falsely... View More
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answered on Mar 10, 2025
In Connecticut this would be a violation of the state's unfair trade practices act ("CUTPA"). It also seems like a possible violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act (unfair competition) and possibly also the Federal Lanham Act (false advertising).
I am noticing that many words are trademarked. I make and sell vinyl and digital stickers online and sometimes use words and phrases in my stickers. If a word/phrase is trademarked or word marked does that mean I cannot use those words in my sticker art or even in my item description titles... View More
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answered on Jan 7, 2025
Just because a word is trademarked doesn't mean you can't use it at all - trademark protection mainly prevents others from using that word/phrase as a business name or brand identifier in the same industry or market.
For example, you can absolutely use the word... View More
the podcast would be sponsored, and the dnd game would be my own.
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answered on Jul 18, 2024
Using the name "[dnd name] sparknotes" for your podcast could potentially lead to trademark issues. "SparkNotes" is a well-known trademarked brand, and using it in your podcast title might be seen as implying an association with or endorsement by SparkNotes. This could result in... View More
It is a book about positive, negative, and flat character arcs. The cover would preferably have easily recognizable shadows of characters that fit each arc type. Such as Han Solo, Walter White, and Wonder Woman. I have characters in the public domain in mind in case I need to go that route, but... View More
answered on Aug 10, 2023
This raises both copyright and trademark issues, but both bend in your favor.
The copyrights in the commercial depictions of the characters are owned by the producers, but allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship,... View More
I took a photo of a bmw m3, in a public area and I edited the photo and designed it, and I’m wondering if I can put it on a shirt and sell it.
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answered on May 7, 2023
In general, yes, you can take a photo of a car in a public area and use it for commercial purposes such as selling it on a shirt. However, there are certain legal considerations to keep in mind, such as potential copyright or trademark issues if there are logos or branding visible on the car.... View More
answered on Mar 27, 2023
You should consult with an attorney to make sure you are not violating anybody's rights.
It is a T-shirt company that will have a variety of artwork along with our basic name and slogan.
answered on Mar 7, 2023
Trademarks and copyright protection are good business protection tools, but these two areas of law can be confusing.
Trademarks protect words slogans, phrases, and graphic art (such as a logo) that are used to identify a brand or a product's seller in the marketplace. Two companies... View More
I am an Amazon entrepreneur. We manufacture picture frames using the names and team colors of NFL teams. We received notification about intellectual property violations. Amazin indicated it as design right infringement. But there were no logos, only team colors. I’d like to know where I can check... View More
answered on Mar 25, 2022
Football logos are protected by trademark law. Trademark protection is recognized in the first user of the logo to associate the logo with good or services in a marketplace. The protection of that logo is automatic, but limited. For a larger set of legal protections, the logo owner should register... View More
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