North Carolina General Statutes 66-210. Disclosures made prior to contract
In either the first written communication from the invention developer to a specific customer, or at the first personal meeting between the invention developer and a customer whichever may first occur, the invention developer shall make a written disclosure to the customer of the information required in this section which includes:
(1) The median fee charged to all of the invention developer’s customers who have signed contracts with the developer in the preceding six months, excluding customers who have signed in the preceding 30 days;
Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 66-210
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Customer: means any natural person who is solicited by, inquires about, seeks the services of, or enters into a contract with an invention developer for invention development services. See North Carolina General Statutes 66-209
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- Invention: means any discovery, process, machine, design, formulation, composition of matter, product, concept, or idea, or any combination of these. See North Carolina General Statutes 66-209
- Invention developer: is a n individual, firm, partnership, or corporation, or an agent, employee, officer, partner, or independent contractor of one of those entities, that offers to perform or performs invention development services for a customer and that is not:
- Invention development services: means any act done by or for an invention developer for the procurement or attempted procurement by the invention developer of a licensee or buyer of an intellectual property right in an invention. See North Carolina General Statutes 66-209
- United States: shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
(2) A single statement setting forth (i) the total number of customers who have contracted with the invention developer, except that the number need not reflect those customers who have contracted within the preceding 30 days, and (ii) the number of customers who have received, by virtue of the invention developer’s performance of invention development services, an amount of money in excess of the amount of money paid by those customers to the invention developer pursuant to a contract for invention development services;
(3) The following statement: “Unless the invention developer is a lawyer or person registered before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, he is NOT permitted to give you legal advice concerning patent, copyright, trademark law, or the law of unfair competition or to advise you of whether your idea or invention may be patentable or may be protected under the patent, copyright, or trademark laws of the United States, or any other law. No patent, copyright, or trademark protection will be acquired for you by the invention developer. Your failure to inquire into the law governing patent, trademark, or copyright matters may jeopardize your rights in your idea or invention, both in the United States and in foreign countries. Your failure to identify and investigate existing patents, trademarks, or registered copyrights may place you in jeopardy of infringing the copyrights, patent, or trademark rights of other persons if you proceed to make, use, distribute, or sell your idea or invention.” (1989, c. 746, s. 1; c. 770, s. 62.1(1), (2); 1991, c. 235, s. 1.)