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Thomas James
Thomas James at the Law Office of Tom James - copyright, trademark and appeals
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Biography
Thomas B James (Thomas James) is a private practice attorney with over 25 years experience at the Law Office of Tom James in Cokato, Minnesota. He focuses on business law, nonprofits, trademark registration and enforcement, copyright registration and enforcement, intellectual property licensing, and appeals. Thomas James is licensed to practice in Minnesota state and federal courts, the 8th and Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal; and the United States Supreme Court. He is also admitted to practice in the Trademark Trials and Appeals Board (TTAB);
In addition to practicing law, Tom James is the author of "E-Commerce Law: The Handbook for Online Business," "Website Law" and "The History of Custody Law." Has also published numerous articles in law reviews and other business and legal publications.
Attorney Thomas James has two blogs - The Cokato Copyright Attorney, www.thomasbjames.com, and a personal blog at https://medium.com/@ThomasBJamesMinnesotaAttorney. The Cokato Copyright Attorney focuses on news and developments in the field of copyright and trademark law. The blog on Medium.com is where he posts matter that is not related to copyright or trademark law.
When he is not practicing law or writing, attorney Tom James teaches continuing legal education courses on copyright law, elimination of bias, and other topics to attorneys.
Practice Areas
- Intellectual Property
- Trademarks
- Trademark Registration
- Appeals & Appellate
- Civil Appeals, Federal Appeals
- Business Law
- Business Contracts, Business Dissolution, Business Formation
Additional Practice Areas
- Nonprofit organization -formation and tax-exemption application
- Copyright
Fees
- Credit Cards Accepted
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Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
Offers flat fee options for registrations of copyrights and trademarks
Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice
- Minnesota
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- 8th Circuit
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- Federal Circuit
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- U.S. Supreme Court
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Languages
- English: Spoken, Written
Professional Experience
- CLE Instructor
- Echion
- - Current
- Attorney
- Law Office of Thomas James
- - Current
Education
- Southwestern Law School
- J.D. | Law
- Honors: Honor student; Top student award in Constitutional Law
- Activities: Judicial internship
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- University of California - Berkeley
- B.A. | Philosophy
- Honors: Magna cum laude
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Awards
- Legal Scholarship Award
- American Jurisprudence
- Certificate of Commendation for Contribution to the Administration of Justice
- Minnesota Governor
- Judges Award for Outstanding Service
- Hennepin County District Court
- Top Student Award for Constitutional Law
- Southwestern University School of Law
Professional Associations
- Minnesota State Bar
- Member
- Current
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- American Bar Association
- Member
- Current
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- LegalCORPS
- Volunteer attorney
- Current
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- SCORE
- Volunteer instructor
- Current
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- Copyright Society
- Member
- Current
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- Nonfiction Authors Association
- Member
- Current
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- National Parents Organization
- Advisory Board Member
- - Current
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Publications
Articles & Publications
- Free Speech
- Medium.com
- For Whom the Za Tolls Update
- The Cokato Copyright Attorney
- Top o' the Blarney to Ya
- Medium.com
- Newly Public Domain Works
- The Cokato Copyright Attorney
- Coercive Control
- Personal Blog of Minnesota attorney Thomas James
Speaking Engagements
- Relative Foster Care and Adoption CLE, Webinar, Online
- Echion CLE
- 3-hour CLE course hosted by Tom James lawyer in Minnesota and featuring speakers Kelis Houston (Village Arms), Rhia Spears (attorney) and Misty Coonces (Ampersand Families adoption/foster placement agency). More information at https://echioncle.com/relative-adoption
- Trauma-Informed Practices CLE, Webinar, Online
- Echion CLE
- 3-hour CLE course hosted by Tom James attorney and featuring speakers Jennifer Bovitz, JD (Minn. OLPR), Katie Olson, JD, and Russ Turner of People Incorporated. More information at https://echioncle.com/trauma-informed-practice
- Trauma-Informed Practices CLE, Webinar, Online
- Echion CLE
- 3-hour CLE on Trauma-Informed Practices. Hosted by Tom James attorney and featuring Jennifer Bovitz, JD, Katie Olson, JD, and Russ Turner of People Incorporated. More information at EchionCLE.com
- Stress and Secondary Trauma in Family Law Professionals CLE, Online webinar
- Echion CLE
- Online continuing legal education course hosted by Cokato, Minnesota attorney Thomas James at the Law Office of Tom James. Joined by attorneys Karl Nastrom and Bob Schuneman, former family law attorney Tom James discusses the kinds of stressors that family law professionals face. The low-cost CLE course is accredited for attorney continuing legal education (CLE) credit and CE credit for mediators and other ADR neutrals in Minnesota. CLE credit may be available in other jurisdictions as well.
- Registering Copyrights in Music and Music Albums for Non-IP Attorneys CLE, CLE Webinar, online
- Echion Education
Certifications
- Mediator
- Dispute Resolution Institute
Websites & Blogs
- Website
- Law Office of Tom James
- Website
- Echion CLE
- Website
- Attorney Profile
- Blog
- Cokato Copyright Attorney: The Law Blog of Thomas James
- AI Can Create, But Is It Art?
May 25, 2022 - Copyright Claims Board (CCB) Update
May 5, 2022 - For Whom the Za Tolls Update
March 23, 2022
- Blog
- Thomas B James on Medium
- ACLU Announces New “Discounted Speech” Policy
May 2, 2022 - 50 Second-World Problems
April 30, 2022 - Trauma-Informed Law Practices
April 15, 2022
Legal Answers
15 Questions Answered
- Q. so someone has a clothing brand with a name that doesn't seem to be copyrighted.
- A: A name isn't protected by copyright, but it might be protected as a trademark. In the U.S., an unregistered trademark is enforceable as a "common law" trademark. You run a high risk of trademark infringement liability if you use another company's brand for the same kinds of products or services.
- Q. Why is my trademark cancelled?
- A: In the United States, cancellation could happen for a variety of reasons. The most common ones are (1) Failure to renew it; (2) Failure to file an statement of use after filing an intent-to-use application; (3) Non-use at the time of the application (where the application was based on an existing use); (4) fraud; (5) abandonment (presumed if not used for more than 3 consecutive years); (6) likelihood of confusion with another trademark; (7) failure to function as a trademark (e.g., genericide, or it is merely descriptive; (8) dilution.
- Q. I'm writing a book on covid, I'm including quotes from various doctors and medical journals, is this fair use?
- A: Under U.S. fair use doctrine, a limited portion of a work may be quoted for purposes of criticism, commentary, news reporting, or academic writing. There is no bright-line test for determining the amount that may be quoted. It depends on consideration of several factors. Note that the question of fair use is analyzed for each separately copyrighted work. For example, suppose you quote one sentence from work A, comment on it, and then quote another sentence from work B by a different copyright owner and comment on that one, A court would analyze whether the quoting of work A is fair use separately from whether the quoting of work B is fair use.
Annotations
- Breanna Marie Borth, Appellant, vs. Matthew Joseph Borth, Respondent
- Minnesota Court of Appeals
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