Louisiana Intellectual Property Case Value Calculator

A Louisiana intellectual property case can involve a patent, trademark, copyright, or trade secret, each with its own rules. Patent and copyright disputes are federal; trademark and trade-secret claims can proceed under both federal and Louisiana law. Which type of IP is at stake drives the damages and the prerequisites for suing.

IP damages are typically measured as your lost profits, the infringer's profits, or a reasonable royalty — what you would have charged to license the work. For willful infringement, patent and trademark law allow enhanced damages up to three times the actual damages, plus attorney fees in exceptional cases, which makes willfulness a major value driver.

Deadlines vary by IP type. Louisiana's trade secrets act requires a misappropriation suit within 3 years after the misappropriation is discovered or by reasonable diligence should have been discovered, and treats a continuing misappropriation as a single claim (Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:1436). A copyright suit must be commenced within 3 years after the claim accrued (17 U.S.C. 507(b)), and patent damages cannot reach infringement more than 6 years before suit (35 U.S.C. 286). A Louisiana deadline for trademark claims was not confirmed here.