You think you might need an intellectual property attorney, but you're not entirely sure. As most stories go, you have an amazing idea—not just an okay, good, or possibly profitable idea. You have an idea that you've spent years researching and working on. And you are absolutely sure that your awesomely innovative invention requires a patent. Now what? The next steps that you take are essential to making sure that your intellectual property (in other words, your ideas and the mental labor) is protected. Understanding how to choose an attorney and what you need to do is all part of your future success.
Know Your Needs
Before interviewing potential intellectual property (IP) lawyers, take some time to fully understand your needs. The first step is to decide whether you need an attorney or not. IP lawyers help clients with patenting inventions of tangible items. They also take on patent dispute cases as well. If you've invented something entirely new, an IP layer can help you to research previous patents and patent your product. Along with this service, these attorneys can help with copyright and trademark protection and disputes. Unlike patents for tangible goods, copyrights and trademarks deal with written/artistic expression and names.
First-Person References
Reading an online review of an attorney might not mean much. You're just getting a snippet of someone else's experience. It's likely that you need more than a paragraph to truly understand the attorney's true pros and cons. Talk to other people who've used the attorney for similar services. This might mean connecting with other inventors in a support group or business community that you belong to, talking to family members, or asking co-workers about their experiences.
Interview Attorneys
Not every attorney specializes in the services that you need. You need someone with expert experience in the type of intellectual property issue that you're having. If you need to research and patent a product, you want a lawyer who has done this (more than once or twice). If you already have a patent, and need someone to help you to dispute another inventors claim to your idea, you need a lawyer who can go into court and defend your intellectual property rights. Schedule an appointment with each potential attorney to ask questions and find out what they can do for you. Come prepared with a list of specific questions about the attorney's experience and how they plan to handle your case.
You're an inventor. You have grand ideas, and you want to make sure that they stay as your own. Finding the right intellectual property attorney, such as those at Joseph E Mueth Law Office, is a crucial part to your success. From knowing what you need to getting references and interviewing attorneys, the steps that you take right now might just become the building blocks of your business.
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