The following defenses may be asserted in response to a trademark infringement claim:
Fraud
Genericness
Acquiescence
Limitations
Laches
Estoppel
Fair use
Waiver
Abandonment
Junior user
Invalid registration
Innocent user
License
Unclean hands
Trademark misuse
First Amendment protection
Prior judgment/release
Read MoreFor more information, see our blog post, What are Trademark Infringement Damages?
Read MoreA trademark protects the goodwill a company or brand has built surrounding themselves as a source of goods or services by establishing intellectual property rights in any word, phrase, and/or design that serves to identify the source of the product or service in the eyes of consumers. Holding the rights in a trademark prevents others from using the mark in relation to those applicable goods or services. This allows the company or brand to avoid any lost sales, unfair competition, and dilution or smearing of its good name. For more information, see our post, What does a trademark protect?
Read MoreUnder the Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act (TUTSA), a plaintiff must prove (1) it had a legal recognizable trade secret and (2) the defendant misappropriated the trade secret.
Read MoreThe following may be asserted as a defense to a patent infringement claim:
Patent Exhaustion
License
Patent Misuse
Estoppel
Acquiescence
Waiver
Unclean Hands
Fraud
Inequitable Conduct
Prior Art Invalidity
Invalidity due to Failure to Meet Statutory Requirements
Non-Infringement
Read MorePatent infringement damages are those monetary rewards available to patent owners and licensees whose patented/licensed invention is used, made, or sold in an unauthorized manner. The two main forms of patent infringement damages are reasonable royalties and lost profits. Treble damages and attorneys’ fees are also available in cases of willful infringement. For more information, see our blog post, What are patent infringement damages?
Read MoreA patent protects a new and useful invention by securing the right in the patent holder to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling, or importing an invention—all for a limited time. Thus, a patent protects an inventor’s exclusive right to engage in these activities pertaining to their invention. For more information, see our blog post, What Does A Patent Protect?
Read MoreA patent is a form of intellectual property that gives an inventor the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling, or importing an invention—for a limited time. The three types of patents recognized by the United States Patent and trademark Office (USPTO) are (1) utility patents, (2) Design patents, and (3) Plant patents, all covering different types of inventive assets. For more information, see our blog post, What is a patent?
Read MoreThe following are potential defenses to a copyright infringement claim:
Fair use
Independent creation
Innocence (not a defense to liability but reduces damages)
License
Authorization
Copyright misuse
Limitations
Invalid copyright
Lack of originality/scenes a faire
Common source/no infringement
Joint ownership
Lack of ownership
Unclean hands
Estoppel
Failure to register
Waiver
Abandonment
Read MoreCopyright infringement damages are the monetary rewards available to copyright owners whose protected work is used in an unauthorized manner. These damages include (1) actual damages and any additional profits of the infringer, or (2) statutory damages. Additional damages may be available in cases of willful infringement, and, where a work is registered, attorneys’ fees may be included. For more information, see our blog post, What are copyright infringement damages?
Read MoreA copyright protects an original work created by an author that has been fixed into some tangible form. Common examples include books, plays, songs, paintings, etc. Importantly, it is not the creative idea itself that a copyright protects, but rather, the tangible form in which the idea has been fixed. Further, the concept of originality is not absolute, as parodies and satire are protectable works as well. For more information about copyright protection, see our blog post, What Does A Copyright Protect?
Read MoreA copyright is a form of intellectual property that gives the creator of an original work the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work. Copyrights are automatically created when someone creates an original work of authorship that is fixed in a tangible form, thus, the idea itself is not copyrightable. For more information, see our blog post, What is a copyright?
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