Florida Intellectual Property Attorney Takes on Disney Company
As a Florida patent attorney and the author of the Florida Intellectual Property Law Blog, I often receive press releases and news submissions relating to Florida intellectual property matters. I received the following press release today regarding another case by Florida intellectual property attorneys Silverman Santucci, LLP concerning alleged violations of Florida trade secret law:
For immediate release by PRceptions:
Tim Allen and Touchtone Pictures Sued Over Wild Hogs Rip-Off
One week before the national release of the much publicized John Travolta road comedy, Wild Hog's, Travolta's co-star, and Hollywood funny man, Tim Allen, and Disney's Touchtone Pictures, are being sued for theft of trade secrets under Florida law. The suit is still pending.
If South Florida screen writers Steven Battaglia and Paul Danner get their way, and the Florida courts aprove, all money generated by the movie will be deposited in a trust fund pending the outcome of the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims that on two occasions, first in 2000 on the set of the Touchstone movie The Crew, and then again in 2002 on the set of another Touchstone release Big Trouble starring Tim Allen, Battaglia handed copies of his work to agents and representatives of Touchtone Pictures and to one of Tim Allen's personal assistants. Writer Steven Battaglia is a well known South Florida based hair dresser who works on movie sets in the area. Paul Danner is a author/screen writer with extensive credentials as well as being a police detective in South Florida.
Mediating Intellectual Property Disputes
Todd Mayover, in-house intellectual property counsel for a medical device company in Florida, has an interesting post at the IPCounsel Blog entitled Intellectual Property Mediation:
"Regardless of the situation, without suggesting mediation, it will never happen. The obvious risk is that other party(s) may say no, but this would have no effect on the actual case at hand. At least the parties would know where they stand."
That being said, it is important to note that the risks of not mediating vary greatly depending upon which milestones have already passed in the litigation.
Protecting Confidential Business Information Under Trade Secret Law
Sometimes the nature of a new method of doing business or a new idea does not lend itself to effective trademark, copyright or patent protection. It may still be possible to provide some protection for these ideas through contract or trade secret law.
The formula used for the Coca Cola brand soft drink is a classic example of a successful trade secret with a long life. Unlike patent, trademark, and copyright law, the law relating to contracts and trade secrets is based on state law and may differ from state to state.
Confidentiality / Non-disclosure Agreements
A Non-Disclosure Agreement (sometimes called a confidentiality agreement) is used by an inventor to reveal an unpatented idea to a party. The inventor has the other party sign a document that says they will not disclose any of the information to anyone else, and will not compete with the inventor.
I strongly discourage revealing your invention until you have filed a patent application even if you have a Non-Disclosure Agreement. Non-Disclosure Agreements should be used sparingly and only when disclosure of your idea to another party is required.
Continue Reading Posted By John Rizvi In Invention & Patent Basics , Patents , Trade Secret Law 0 Comments Permalink