James MacClatchie Duncan
Intellectual Property · Bakersfield
Bar #161474 · Admitted 1992
Official record
The RegistrySan Joaquin Valley · California
Intellectual Property Attorneys in Bakersfield, California
Every intellectual property attorney and intellectual property lawyer listing on this page traces back to the State Bar of California's official roll, filtered to intellectual property matters in Bakersfield. Verification describes profile identity, not quality or outcomes.
Bakersfield is a city of roughly 404,000, and its intellectual property matters are heard at the Kern County Superior Court: Metropolitan Division, Bakersfield. Kern County Superior Court's Metropolitan Division in downtown Bakersfield anchors a docket shaped by the southern Valley's oil, agriculture, and logistics industries; workplace injury, wage-and-hour, and trucking collision matters are constants.
Deadlines shape these cases before merits do · three years for copyright claims; trade secret claims run three years (Cal. Civ. Code § 3426.6) (17 U.S.C. § 507(b)). Patent damages reach back six years (35 U.S.C. § 286). Trademark claims under the Lanham Act borrow analogous state periods and are shaped by laches.
This page is the Bakersfield chapter of the registry's statewide record · Intellectual Property Attorneys in California collects every county and city.
The clock & the craft
Statute of limitations
Three years for copyright claims; trade secret claims run three years (Cal. Civ. Code § 3426.6).
17 U.S.C. § 507(b)
Patent damages reach back six years (35 U.S.C. § 286). Trademark claims under the Lanham Act borrow analogous state periods and are shaped by laches.
Reading the roster in Bakersfield
Match the attorney to the asset: trademark clearance and prosecution, copyright licensing, trade-secret protection programs, and patent work are distinct practices, and patent prosecution requires USPTO registration. California's technology corridors mean deep benches in Santa Clara, San Francisco, and Los Angeles counties, but registration and enforcement practice is federal and can be handled statewide. Ask about flat-fee filings, search strategy before adoption of a mark, and enforcement philosophy.
Intellectual Property · Kern County roster
Intellectual Property matters in Bakersfield
The matters this field covers, as Californians search for them. Each attorney's own profile states which of these they take.
- trademark registration and disputes
- copyright infringement
- patent prosecution and litigation
- trade secrets
- licensing agreements
- domain name and online infringement
- DMCA takedowns
- entertainment and brand rights
- software and technology licensing
- IP due diligence in business sales
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Intellectual Property questions, cited
Do I need to register a copyright to be protected?
Protection attaches automatically when an original work is fixed in tangible form (17 U.S.C. § 102), but registration is required before a U.S. author can file an infringement suit (17 U.S.C. § 411, confirmed in Fourth Estate v. Wall-Street.com (2019) 586 U.S. 296), and timely registration unlocks statutory damages up to $150,000 for willful infringement and attorney fees (17 U.S.C. §§ 412, 504–505).
What is the difference between a trademark, copyright, and patent?
A trademark protects brand identifiers (names, logos, slogans) in commerce (15 U.S.C. § 1051 et seq.); rights arise from use and strengthen with federal registration. A copyright protects original creative works (17 U.S.C. § 102). A patent protects inventions for roughly 20 years from filing (35 U.S.C. § 154) and only a registered patent attorney or agent may prosecute applications before the USPTO.
How are trade secrets protected in California?
Under the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act (Cal. Civ. Code § 3426 et seq.) and the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (18 U.S.C. § 1836): information with independent economic value from secrecy, subject to reasonable protection efforts, is enforceable against misappropriation. Claims run three years from discovery (Civ. Code § 3426.6). California pairs this with a strong ban on employee non-competes (Bus. & Prof. Code § 16600).
Does my employer own what I invent or create in California?
Work created within the scope of employment is generally the employer's (17 U.S.C. § 201(b) for copyrights; invention-assignment agreements for patents). But Cal. Lab. Code § 2870 voids assignment provisions reaching inventions developed entirely on your own time without employer equipment or trade secrets, unless they relate to the employer's business or your work, a protection unique to a handful of states.
What should I do if someone is infringing my trademark or copying my work?
Document the infringement, confirm your registrations are in order, and act promptly; remedies favor diligent owners, and laches can bar delayed claims. Options range from DMCA takedown notices for online copies (17 U.S.C. § 512) and cease-and-desist letters to federal suits seeking injunctions and damages (15 U.S.C. § 1116–1117 for trademarks; 17 U.S.C. §§ 502–505 for copyrights).
Legal information, not legal advice.
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