What Intellectual Property Lawyers Do
Intellectual Property (IP) lawyers:
- Help clients establish, protect and license intellectual property rights
- Represent creators of patentable technology; authors of automatically copyrighted creative works, such as books, music, movies, or software, and organizations with trademarks or trade secrets
- Negotiate, draft and review documents to create patents or use/ license all forms of IP
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Interpret complex statutes and regulations and clients’ scientific, cultural and business environment
- Practice in private firms of all sizes, including solo practice, in-house counsel departments, and government offices, such as US Patent and Trademark Office
Who Might Enjoy This Specialty?
You might enjoy practicing IP law if you:
- Enjoy interacting and structuring discussions with people throughout an organization
- Have a particular background in writing, music, or the arts (copyright); science, computer programming, aerospace engineering or medical researcher (patent); or design, marketing/branding, or business (trademark)
- Want to help protect an individual’s creative development or work product
- Are technologically savvy and interested in staying on the cutting edge of technology development
- Seek a field with options for either a niche practice or a general business practice
- Thrive in a newer, evolving field with career path flexibility and potential for creativity and entrepreneurial opportunities