Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Pennsylvania

Re: Intellectual Prop Law Questions

Gee, what's your purpose for talking with an intellectual property attorney? Are you seeking to assess his/her competence or suitability to work with your issues? Or are you seeking an overview of the field?

Do you have a business that provides products or services that you want to protect by the tools of intellectual property law, namely patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret and some others like Internet domain registration, mask work protection, etc? Or are you being challenged by someone who says you are infringing their intellectual property rights, in which event you want someone who is experienced on advising in this field and defending in court?

If the subject matter includes a patent, it is important to ascertain that the attorney is licensed to practice as a patent attorney before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Many attorneys who identify themselves as working in "intellectual property" specialize in trademarks and copyrights but are not licensed to prosecute patent applications. If it involves international questions, ask how the attorney will obtain information about the law that affects any pertinent jurisdictions (e.g. Canada, Australia, Japan, etc.).

Upfront get the attorney to determine that s/he doesn't have a conflict of interest that would prevent taking on your matter. You will want to confirm that anything that you tell the attorney will be kept confidential, even if you don't wind up hiring him/her.

Re: Intellectual Prop Law Questions

Intellectual property law is a broad area of law i.e. do you have a patent, trademark/service mark or copyright. Not all intellectual property attorneys are Patent Attorneys. If you have a patent, you should consult a patent attorney (attorney who is also licensed to practice before the USPTO). A patent agent is a non-attorney who is licensed by the USPTO and can file a patent application but will obviously not be able to give you legal advice.