What Does a Patent Attorney Do?

If you have an innovative idea, a patent attorney is an essential component of your team. A patent attorney is skilled and familiar with the patent system and can assist you in obtaining a patent. It is critical to seek legal guidance as soon as you have a concept in mind to document, draft, apply for, and get a patent. Regarding legal matters, you need a trusted partner such as Greenberg & Lieberman, LLC, who can help you navigate complex issues confidently.

Once you’ve obtained the patent, a patent attorney will continue to assist you by fighting against infringement and ensuring the proper licensing, sale, and maintenance of your invention for the duration of the patent grant.

Contents

1 Understanding Patent Lawyers
2 Patent Lawyer vs. Intellectual Property Lawyer
3 Education to Become a Patent Attorney

Understanding Patent Lawyers

Patent lawyers, or “intellectual property lawyers,” have three primary jobs: patent prosecution, litigation, and everything that involves transactional law. They may have other responsibilities. Still, these are essential splits of responsibilities when working with a team.

Patent prosecution attorneys need the highest technical understanding to create, file, and prosecute patents and trademarks for their clients. Patent litigators manage lawsuits and, despite having less technical experience, are frequently required to research past technology for their case – called “prior arts.”

Transactional attorneys generally acquire and dispose of profiles, licenses, and licensing agreements. Individuals working with smaller businesses or performing solo may be asked to do all of these duties.

Patent attorneys must be well-versed in patent laws. While they may not be conducting the development of new technology, they audit these advances to ensure inventor protection and no infringement on earlier patents. Patent attorneys must be licensed by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). There are presently 34,633 active registered patent attorneys according to the USPTO.

Patent Lawyer vs. Intellectual Property Lawyer

A lawyer can represent a client in court after being admitted to the bar and receiving a practicing certificate. Nevertheless, without being eligible as a patent attorney, a legal practitioner is not permitted to prepare a specification or a document relating to a specification amendment unless the practitioner is going to act under the guidelines of a registered patent attorney or the court has directed the amendment.

The simple explanation for this restriction is that patent specifications should be stated in the technical language of the invention rather than in a merely legalistic fashion.

While patents are a sort of intellectual property, you should not employ an intellectual property attorney when a patent attorney is required. Intellectual property attorneys have not taken the patent bar exam, are not registered by the USPTO, and do not always have specific or technical knowledge of patents.

Education to Become a Patent Attorney

Patent attorneys must have a graduate degree in the sciences, such as a Bachelor of Engineering or a Bachelor of Science. This is required for patent attorneys to thoroughly comprehend and understand the complexities of a client’s creation. Generally, patent attorneys work for clients with inventions connected to their relevant scientific background.

This contributes to the goal of writing patent specifications in the technical language of the sort of innovation rather than in a strictly legalistic fashion.