What Does a Patent Lawyer Do?

As an inventor, you should always consider protecting your inventions from would-be copiers. Patent rights ensure that you retain a legal claim to your creations. Once you acquire a patent, you can profit from your ideas for as long as 20 years from the date of filing while keeping your competitors at bay.

However, obtaining a patent requires legal knowledge and detailed research that an inventor may lack. You will need the help of a patent attorney to acquire and enforce your patent. Therefore, what can you expect when you add a patent attorney to your team? 

1- Draft of Patent Applications

Inventors apply for patent rights to ensure other people don’t steal their ideas and profit from them. Drafting a patent application competently requires many years of practice that not only involves being able to correctly, in a legal manner, describe an invention but to have the forward thought needed to write the application in such a way that small changes made by others will still be covered by a subsequent patent.

Wrong words and phrases could lead to loopholes that place your intellectual property at risk. Patent examiners can also reject an application that is poorly drafted or has unclear sections of the application.

Patent attorneys understand the language required within a patent application. They use correct phrases and eliminate ambiguity in your application. Their experience in the field grants them the technical knowledge and the ability to clearly distinguish your invention from existing products.

Additionally, a patent lawyer has the legal expertise to help you navigate the bureaucracy in the patent system to avoid delays. Patent attorneys assist the process from the patent application until the court enforces it. The patent attorney shields you from wasting time and resources that will occur with a poorly written patent application.

2- Advice on Intellectual Property

A patent lawyer interacts with the patent system more often than the inventors. A patent attorney studies your inventions to analyze if they are viable to receive patent rights. Where necessary, the attorney offers suggestions for adjustments and often discuss possible variations to the invention. They also offer advice on the application procedures for your patent.

Your patent lawyer may guide you regarding license agreements related to your intellectual property. The attorney will counsel you on protecting your patent rights and ensure that only the rights negotiated are properly transferred during the transaction. This may include the inventor retaining certain rights and establishing minimum requirements of the license holder.

Patent attorneys continually study changes in the law to provide the inventor with up-to-date knowledge and information related to intellectual property protection. They can inform you of any changes in the law that may affect your patent rights and take measures that ensure your patent rights remain effectual despite legal and business changes.

Generally, when you introduce your inventions in a foreign country, you will need a patent attorney’s advice and assistance on how to proceed. Patent lawyers will can assist you in finding the best route to protect patent rights are in other nations with assistance from their contacts in that country.

A patent attorney also offers advice on how one’s status affects their patent rights. For instance, as an employee, your employment contract may grant your employer rights to your inventions. In case of a multiple inventors for a single invention, the attorney will advise you of potential pitfalls should your partnership fall apart. In such cases, your attorney will guide you on mitigating unforeseen events on your patents that could arise from your associations.

3- Protection Against Third-Party Risk

Patent infringement cases are expensive for both the plaintiff and the defendant. You will need to identify risks that could lead to such cases and mitigate them. The patent attorney identifies areas where loopholes exist for third-party infringement.

Your patent attorney researches the information or ideas you want to use and ensures they aren’t already covered by a patent. By working closely with your patent lawyer, you can avoid and prevent infringement lawsuits.

4- Representation in Patent Offices

Once you apply for a patent, your application goes through a series of patent examinations by a US Patent Examiner who analyzes your patent claims. The process could take 2 to 3 years and requires communication between the attorney and the examiner in a way that cannot be efficiently managed by a non-attorney inventor.

Fortunately, your patent lawyer will effectively handle the process on your behalf. They communicate with the patent office and deal with any queries the patent examiners have. Your patent attorney will represent your interests with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, which in turn allows you to focus on other areas that require your expertise.

A reliable patent attorney is essential for the protection of your intellectual property. Your patent attorney will provide legal counsel throughout your patent. The lawyer ensures your patent is up-to-date to prevent any technicalities that can lead to lawsuits.

Working with a patent lawyer will simplify the acquisition and enforcement of the patent for your intellectual property. You will save time and resources throughout the patent by avoiding lawsuits that could arise due to a lack of professional guidance.