Business Law

CALIFORNIA COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT ATTORNEYS, SAN DIEGO TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT LAWYERS, ORANGE COUNTY COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT ATTORNEYS

California Law Firm of Attorney R. Sebastian Gibson, Southern California Copyright and Trademark Infringement Attorney, Palm Springs Copyright Lawyer, Palm Desert Trademark Lawyer

Serving the Palm Springs Palm Desert Area, Riverside, the Inland Empire, Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, the Central Coast, San Bernardino & Santa Barbara from our law offices in Rancho Mirage, CA

If an owner of a copyright or trademark can prove ownership of a creative work and that the work was reproduced or published without the authorization of the owner, damages can be sought by the attorneys and lawyers utilized by the law firm of attorney Sebastian Gibson and from other law firms as necessary, for the copyright or trademark owner in a court of law.

Through the international expertise of copyright and trademark attorney Sebastian Gibson, our southern California copyright trademark infringement law firm has the ability to protect a client's intellectual property copyright and trademark rights and properties worldwide against infringement by use of the following avenues, as examples:

1) Our law firm's lawyers and those who we currently, or may in the future, work with in San Diego, California and elsewhere can utilize the assistance of law enforcement agencies throughout the U.S. and internationally to prevent unauthorized copyright and trademark infringement, i.e. the copying and importation of duplicated materials and their infringement on the internet and elsewhere.

2) Our Palm Springs Desert area law firm's copyright and trademark infringement attorneys and those who we currently, or may in the future, work with in California and elsewhere can seek ex parte seizure orders against trademark infringement violators and utilize them without notice to the infringers in the most effective manner and without any prior notice.

3) The copyright and trademark infringement attorneys and lawyers who are currently, or may in the future be working with the California law firm of copyright and trademark attorney Sebastian Gibson can retain investigators and outside counsel in foreign jurisdictions to coordinate investigatory and infringement enforcement efforts to match the nature

and scope of the U.S. copyright and trademark infringement actions we seek.

4) Attorney Sebastian Gibson and the copyright and trademark infringement lawyers we utilize in California and in other jurisdictions can oversee from our offices in Rancho Mirage, California the development of internet websites and anti-infringement information efforts aimed at obtaining crucial evidence in fighting against copyright and trademark infringers.

5) Our copyright and trademark law firm serving clients in Riverside, the Inland Empire, San Bernardino, LA, Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, the Central Coast, Santa Barbara and elsewhere in Southern California and the other copyright and trademark infringement lawyers we utilize to assist on a case by case basis both in California and in other states can send cease and desist letters and e-mails to copyright and trademark infringers, website owners and hosting companies and if that does not stop the infringement, file lawsuits in state and federal courts.

6) The copyright and trademark infringement attorneys and lawyers who are currently, or may in the future be working with our California law firm assisting clients in the Palm Springs desert area, Orange County and San Diego can also work to coordinate other copyright and trademark infringement investigatory sweeps by police, customs agents and private investigators as needed.

7) The copyright and trademark infringement attorneys and lawyers who are currently, or may in the future be working with the California law firm of attorney Sebastian Gibson can educate and work with clients to develop advertising plans aimed at limiting or eliminating copyright & trademark infringement opportunities by known infringers.

In the area of copyright infringement, copyright infringement lawsuits can be filed by Palm Springs desert area attorney and lawyer Sebastian Gibson but must be brought in federal court. Injunctions can also be sought and obtained by Sebastian Gibson and other lawyers utilized by the law firm from outside law firms. While it is customary to first send a cease and desist letter, a copyright or trademark owner should have attorneys ready to file suit shortly thereafter in order to avoid being dragged into an inconvenient forum (court) by a deep-pocket and well-counseled defendant.

Although there are some limited exceptions, registration of a copyright by a copyright owner or his or her copyright attorney is required prior to filing suit, and our law firm can perform this task whether the client lives in the Palm Springs Desert Area, Riverside, the Inland Empire, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, the Central Coast, Santa Barbara or elsewhere in southern California. The statute of limitations for a copyright infringement lawsuit is generally three years from the date the copyright owner becomes aware his or her work has been infringed.

A copyright owner whose work has been infringed can, through his or her lawyer, elect either of two types of money damages for the infringement of a copyrighted work: 1) Actual damages sustained as a result of the infringement and any additional profits obtained by the copyright infringer, or 2) statutory damages, when available, of $750.00 to $30,000.00 per infringement, or up to $150,000.00 per infringement ifthe court determines that the infringement was willful.  A court may also award attorney fees and costs.

In establishing the copyright infringer's profits, the copyright owner is required to present proof only of the infringer's gross revenue through his or her attorneys, and our offices in the Palm Springs desert area can assist clients in doing this whether the case is filed in San Diego, Orange County or in the Inland Empire areas of Riverside and San Bernardino, California. The infringer is required to prove through his or her copyright attorneys, his or her deductible expenses and the elements of proof attributable to factors other than the copyrighted work.

Where the court finds that the copyright infringement was committed willfully, the court may increase the award of statutory damages to as much as $150,000. The copyright infringer has the burden of proving through his or her lawyers that he or she was not aware and had no reason to believe that his or her acts constituted an infringement of a copyright.

It is also common, at the filing stage of a lawsuit, for the attorneys for the owner of a copyright to also apply for a temporary and permanent injunction to cease the copyright infringements if they are ongoing. Anyone who violates any of the exclusive rights of a copyright or trademark owner is an infringer of the copyright of the author and is subject to a copyright or trademark infringement lawsuit filed by the attorney or lawyer for the copyright or trademark owner in federal court, or a trademark infringement lawsuit in state court.

A trademark infringement is an unauthorized reproduction of a trademark that creates the likelihood of confusion in the mind of a consumer regarding the source of goods or services. If the consumer is found likely to believe that the trademark infringer's goods or services are those of the person or entity who actually owns the trademark, damages may be awarded for the trademark infringement.

In federal court, a court may award three times the trademark owner's actual damages and the trademark owner may also be entitled to the profits of the infringer and attorney fees, in the discretion of the court. Temporary or permanent injunctions may also be sought by the California lawyers and attorneys utilized by our Palm Springs desert area law firm from offices in Rancho Mirage to assist Riverside, Inland Empire, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, Central Coast & Santa Barbara, California trademark owners. A court also has the power to order the seizure and destruction of counterfeit trademarked goods and the means of producing them.

A trademark infringement lawsuit may also be filed in California state courts by the attorneys and lawyers for a trademark owner, and the remedies and damages available in California are similar to the federal court remedies and damages for trademark infringement.

Under federal law, a plaintiff may also obtain ex parte seizure orders, without notice to the trademark infringer, under certain circumstances. Evidence must be presented by a trademark attorney or lawyer showing why the plaintiff should be granted this remedy and why nothing short of this remedy will adequately protect the trademark owner. Additionally, a likelihood of success must be shown by the attorney or lawyer for the trademark owner in proving that the goods to be seized are counterfeit.

The place of seizure must be provided to the court by the trademark owner's attorneys or lawyers and the court must be assured that the goods will be at the location specified in the papers filed by the trademark owner's attorneys or lawyers. Harm to the legitimate interests of all parties must be weighed by the court. The court must further be assured by the trademark owner's attorneys and lawyers that either the goods would be destroyed, or they would be hidden if notice of the motion was provided to the trademark infringer.

Only a limited number of days are given to the U.S. Marshall or other law enforcement personnel to accomplish the seizure and a further hearing is held shortly thereafter which must be attended by the attorneys or lawyers for the trademark owner.

Penalties awarded for requesting a wrongful seizure can be significant. They can include lost profits, loss of good will, the cost of goods, punitive damages, and attorney fees.

If you are a copyright or trademark owner and feel that your copyright or trademarked goods have been infringed or reproduced without your authorization, let the copyright and trademark infringement attorneys and lawyers who are currently, or may in the future be working with the Palm Springs Desert area law firm of lawyer Sebastian Gibson from offices in Rancho Mirage, to assist you in Riverside, the Inland Empire, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, the Central Coast & Santa Barbara County, California and evaluate your case and protect your valuable intellectual property copyright and trademark rights.