Klauber & Jackson, lawyers in Hackensack, NJ, New Jersey

Patents

After a patent is issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the patent owner may mark the patented articles with the word "Patent" or the abbreviation "Pat." along with the patent number assigned by the USPTO. This marking of the patent number on the product constitutes notification of the patent, which is essential to a monetary recovery in a patent action. Although that patent statute states that a patent owner "may give notice" of the patent by marking the patented article, monetary damages for the infringement of an unmarked item can only be recovered from the time that the alleged infringer has been notified of the infringement by a cease and desist letter, by service of a summons and a copy of the complaint, or by other means. In such a case, if the alleged infringer ceases the infringing activity immediately upon notification, a monetary recovery could not be had at all in an infringement suit. More...

The Intellectual Property Omnibus Reform Act of 1999

On November 19, 1999, Congress passed the Intellectual Property and Communications Omnibus Reform Act of 1999 as part of the consolidated appropriations bill. Chief among its provisions is the extension of the satellite carrier compulsory license, which permits the retransmission of distant television station signals. In addition, the bill creates a new royalty-free compulsory license for retransmission of local television stations by satellite carriers. It allows satellite carriers, for the first time, to legally offer local stations to their viewers, a right cable operators have always had. Congress also reduced the royalty fees that satellite carriers must pay for superstation and network rebroadcasts.More...

U.S. International Trade Commission

The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) is an independent, nonpartisan, quasi-judicial federal agency that provides trade expertise to both the legislative and executive branches of government, determines the impact of imports on U.S. industries, and directs actions against certain unfair trade practices, such as patent, trademark, and copyright infringement. The USITC was established by Congress in 1916. More...

Distribution Rights

The distribution right grants to the copyright holder the exclusive right to make a work available to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership or by rental, lease, or lending. The owner of a copyright has the right to give away, sell, or withhold any material embodiment of his or her work. In essence, this is the right to control publication of a work because publication without distribution of copies is meaningless. This right allows the copyright holder to prevent the distribution of unauthorized copies of a work. In addition, the right allows the copyright holder to control the first distribution of a particular authorized copy. However, the distribution right is limited by the "first sale doctrine," which states that after the first sale or distribution of a copy, the copyright holder can no longer control what happens to that copy. More...

State Copyright Law and Preemption

The law of copyright in the United States has become primarily federal since implementation of the Copyright Act of 1976. Thus, the rights conferred under copyright law are of a federal character and are vindicated in federal court. However, state law continues to fill in areas that are not explicitly governed by the federal Act. The areas that were not pre-empted by the passage of the Copyright Act are common law copyright and protection of pre-1972 sound recordings.More...