Ever wondered what a Patent and Trade Mark Attorney firm or IP law firm does? Well, without them, our recent rapid technological and intellectual advancements may not have happened. This is because intellectual property professionals, like patent attorneys, trade mark attorneys and lawyers help to protect creativity and innovation, allowing their clients to flourish.
What are IP Lawyers?
To understand exactly how IP lawyers safeguard creativity and innovation, you need to first understand what intellectual property (or IP) is.
What Is Intellectual Property?
At its core, anything that you uniquely create or innovate is your intellectual property. This includes written works of fiction; technical processes for creating products or compounds; and designs for technological advancements, like circuit layouts.
Essentially, if it requires your unique creativity and innovation, there is a strong chance you have a claim to intellectual ownership of it. There are instances where the IP may not belong to you, such as if you created it while under contract with a business. Alternatively, if you sell the IP rights to another person, you can no longer claim the IP as your own.
However, simply having the IP rights for something isn’t often enough. You need to be able to protect these rights as well.
What Does an IP Lawyer Do?
So, fundamentally, IP lawyers are in the business of protecting intellectual assets. They do this through preparing, drafting and submitting legal documents; conducting research and negotiations, and providing advice. All this is done in line with relevant patent, copyright and licensing requirements.
As part of this, they can help ensure that any patents or trade marks that you have are correctly filed and protected, and even prosecute infringements against your filings as needed.
When you’re working with patent attorneys in particular, you’re working with people who are specialised in your relevant technical field, like engineering, chemistry or biology. This ensures that they are equipped to fully comprehend the relevant and highly detailed technical information needed to officially register and protect your patents.
3 Ways IP Lawyers Protect & Foster Creativity & Innovation
They Help You to Capitalise on Your IP Assets
Your intellectual ingenuity should benefit you and your business. However, it can be hard to maximise this. With experts in your field, a Patent and Trade Mark Attorney firm or IP law firm can provide you with advice and strategies to ensure you’re getting the most from your intellectual assets. This can then help to grow the business further, providing you with the funds to research and develop further innovations.
They Have Connections to Other IP Law Specialists
As part of capitalising on your intellectual assets, your IP professionals can help you discover opportunities further afield. This can be within different industries — perhaps your intellectual capital can be applied in a new way? — as well as in different markets, like other countries. Many IP law firms have connections to patent and trade mark offices across the world. Therefore, working with an IP law firm means that you can ensure that your IP rights continue to be protected, even as you take your assets into different contexts.
They Prevent Unlicensed Copies
Your time and effort should be spent growing your business, finding further unique innovations and enjoying the rewards of your hard work. But this won’t be the case if you’re having to push back against unlicensed copies of your intellectual assets.
With an IP law firm on your side, you can ensure that your intellectual capital is properly registered and easier to protect, including stopping others from benefiting from your innovations. Additionally, as false, lower-quality copies can damage your business’ reputation, you are helping to protect your business’ name too.
What Makes a Good IP Lawyer?
Of course, these benefits can only really be enjoyed when you’re working with an experienced and high-quality IP law firm. This means you need to know what to look for when protecting your intellectual property.
Experience & Contextual Knowledge
Relevant and timely advice is key to best leveraging your IP assets. Therefore, you want to work with an IP professional who has experience within your industry, as well as a strong understanding of what the industry entails and where innovations are most sought. Your IP professional should find details about your direct competitors and supply networks. This attention to detail helps to provide comprehensive and appropriate advice.
Excellent Communication Skills
Whether it’s presenting strategies, advice and information to you or creating compelling arguments when prosecuting someone infringing on your IP, you want to choose an IP law firm with a reputation for excellent communication. This ensures you won’t be left in the dark when using their services and your intellectual assets are protected as thoroughly as possible.
Discover Davies Collison Cave
With more than 140 years of experience in the intellectual property industry and a consistent reputation for filing impressive numbers of patents each year in the Asia Pacific region, Davies Collison Cave (DCC) is an outstanding Patent and Trade Mark Attorney Firm and IP law firm. Their detail-oriented approach and commitment to their clients see them regularly receiving prestigious awards and protecting the intellectual assets of individuals and small businesses, right through to some of the best-known international brands.
If you’re ready to protect and maximise your intellectual property, connect with DCC today for a free, no-obligation consultation.
