Work for Hire Dispute: former employee took trade secrets

EDIT: added more context below. Looking for advice on a legal issue. Here's what happened.

former employee took trade secrets. I've been dealing with this for about 7 weeks now and the situation isn't improving.

This involves software/code I developed over the past 24 months. I do have documentation proving my ownership and timeline.

What are the risks if I pursue this? What's the likely timeline?

Yeah this happened to me too. Have you tried filing a complaint with the relevant agency? In my case they investigated and it got resolved without needing a lawyer imo.

Trademark registration takes 8-12 months right now. If you need immediate protection, common law trademark rights exist from the date you first use the mark in commerce. Registration just gives you additional benefits.

Fair use is a defense, not a right. The four factors (purpose, nature, amount, market effect) are balanced on a case-by-case basis. Transformative use helps, but it doesn't guarantee fair use.