In the field of law, intellectual property lawyers help companies and individuals protect their intellectual property (IP) or they help them acquire IP rights. These lawyers may also provide counsel on how to best develop an IP portfolio strategy with the goal of maximizing the economic value of a company’s holdings. In this article, you will learn the roles intellectual property lawyers play in their companies and the economic value they create.
Who is an Intellectual Property Lawyer?
First, let’s take a look at intellectual property lawyers. Intellectual property lawyers assist clients by applying the law in order to obtain protection for certain types of intellectual property and to license or enforce rights in existing IP. The “law” they are referring to is patent, trademark, and copyright laws. While intellectual property law typically focuses on protecting ideas and inventions, other legal fields also apply the laws of intellectual property to protect things such as musical works and names.
Roles
- Intellectual Property Evaluation
Intellectual property lawyers evaluate an entity’s current portfolio of intellectual property, including conducting validations that determine whether or not IP qualifies as protectable IP and whether it has been correctly registered. A lawyer will then advise their client on how best to protect their IP. Together, the lawyer and their client should develop a plan to mitigate risk and to assess whether or not the client should take action against parties infringing upon their IP.
- IP Valuation
Intellectual property lawyers also provide valuation services to their clients so that they can accurately value their portfolio of IP. Additionally, the value of IP needs to be accurately assessed for insurance purposes.
iii. Intellectual Property Management
Intellectual property lawyers can help their clients with intellectual property management, including developing a strategy for managing and protecting the company’s portfolio of IP. In doing so, they provide guidance on how best to protect or license the company’s IP and handle various aspects of the business such as trademarks, copyrights, licensing agreements, and domain names. The lawyer can also provide advice on related legal matters such as contracts, litigation, and international issues.
- Legal Advice
These lawyers can also provide legal advice on specific types of intellectual property issues. For example, a lawyer may advise their client on how to obtain a patent or trademark. Or the lawyer may help file a copyright infringement claim in either state or federal court. In doing so, they represent the client’s interests successfully and achieve their client’s goals.
Hiring the Best Intellectual Property Lawyers
When it comes to acquiring or defending your company’s intellectual property, you want to hire the best intellectual property lawyers. In doing so, you will get an experienced and knowledgeable legal team that will help you protect your company’s IP against others’ activities. The lawyer should be knowledgeable in all aspects of intellectual property law and have experience with legal issues that could come up. The lawyer should, of course, be well-versed in their client’s business operations and have a thorough knowledge of the business and its markets.
Intellectual property lawyers are the people who ensure that companies and individuals protect their intellectual property rights. These lawyers help businesses acquire or defend their IP, manage these IP rights and licenses, provide counsel on how to better protect existing rights, and assess value of the IP portfolio. It is important to note that intellectual property law has become increasingly important in today’s business world. Those who work with intellectual property lawyers in the legal field will be considered professionals who have valuable expertise.