Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

The short answer to your question is to sue your ex for infringement, but there is a LOT more to this matter than that too-short response indicates. The real, concrete answer to your question is far too complex for this forum. You NEED a lawyer who practices both copyright and trademark law. These lawyers are not hard to find in your part of the world; look on www.lawyers.com, www.martindale.com, or get a referral from your own attorney (DON'T let your own attorney handle this unless s/he handles copyright and trademark matters regularly; dabblers do not fare well in these areas of law) or from the county and/or state bar association. Or search the US Patent & Trademark Office's roster of patent attorneys at oedci.uspto.gov/OEDCI/ ; these folks often practice "soft" intellectual property law (copyright and trademark) as well as patent law.

Good luck!

THIS POST CONTAINS GENERAL INFORMATION AND IS INTENDED FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE, NOR DOES IT CREATE ANY ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP. FOR LEGAL ADVICE ON YOUR PARTICULAR MATTER, CONSULT YOUR ATTORNEY.

Copyright attaches to your work as soon as you create it, so you own the copyright in your design regardless of whether you actually register with the copyright office. You have the exclusive legal right to copy or distribute (among other things) your work or to prevent others from doing so. Your ex is infringing on your copyright and apparently is "willfully" doing so, which raises the stakes. Even though you own the rights, however, in order to go to court and sue, you must first have a valid copyright registration. Registering your design with the copyright office would be your first step in preventing further use of your design. Even if (as is possible) your ex has done her own registration claiming the design is hers, if you can show that the work is actually your creation you would prevail.