Trademark Dispute — employer claiming my side project IP

Has anyone dealt with something like this? I'm not sure what my options are.

employer claiming my side project IP. I've been dealing with this for about 14 weeks now and the situation isn't improving.

This involves content I created over the past 14 months. I do have documentation proving my ownership and timeline.

Do I have a strong case? What should my next steps be?

Have you tried reaching out to your state's attorney general? They sometimes have free resources or mediation services.

I've seen this play out several times in my field.

The biggest mistake people make in this situation is having everything documented. I'd recommend keeping a detailed timeline instead.

I went through almost the exact same thing.

I ended up hiring an attorney to send the initial letter, which cost about $2-4 but saved me a lot more in the long run.

Attorney here. Here's my take on the legal issues.

There are several legal theories that could apply here. The strongest is probably the Lanham Act, which requires showing likely to cause confusion.

The practical consideration here is cost vs. potential recovery. For disputes under $10K, small claims court is often the best route.

I've seen this play out several times in my field.

What worked for me was filing with the appropriate government agency. It took 4-8 months but was worth it.