What do intellectual property lawyers do?

Answer

IP lawyers advise and assist clients in the creation, identification, protection, transfer and licensing of intellectual property (IP) and related issues.

IP includes inventions and other trade secrets and creative works of a non-functional nature (writings, sculpture, graphics, etc). A person's own name and likeness are also sometimes included as protectable property.

Well known mechanisms that IP lawyers use for their clients include the laws that protect patents of various types, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, commercial publicity, among others. They must be familiar with statutory rights, contracts, torts, crimes, international trade relations, as well as regulatory law, civil procedure, and business law.

As for what they actually DO, an IP lawyer's day will vary from one firm to another, depending upon his or her specialty, but will often involve conferences with clients and international associates, drafting letters or documents for filing in one administrative office or another, researching the laws and regulations, and participation with court cases.

First answer by Wutzyerproblem. Last edit by Wutzyerproblem. Contributor trust: 484 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 15 [recommend question]