|
Home / Legal
How to Work With Your Intellectual Property Lawyer
By:Mikki Barry
In many small businesses, intellectual property is an overlooked asset. The goodwill from your company name, computer programs you have written, articles, manuals, or books that you have written, logos, advertising copy, methods you have used or processes to create your products or services, all should be closely examined in conjunction with a qualified intellectual property attorney, to decide how much value they are to your business, and how they should be properly protected.
There are many different disciplines under which your intellectual property can be protected. These include copyright, trademark, trade secret, method patents, design patents, product patents, and others. You can also consult with your intellectual property attorney to decide whether or not to extend your intellectual property protection world wide, or just keep it national.
If your business could be impacted by competitors copying your name, your logo, your products, your services, or anything else integral to your business' success, you owe it to yourself, your employees and your shareholders to protect it in the strongest way possible. Fine yourself a good intellectual property attorney with specific knowledge of your particular business genre who can help you "lock down" your investment.
What Should You Look For in an Intellectual Property Attorney?
Intellectual property is a field in which an attorney has to know not only the law, but must also have a sense about the potential client's business goals, practices, and ethical stance. These elements are not always obvious, so it is in the client's best interest to inquire in an initial interview not only how long s/he has been practicing this particular type of law, but also what type of businesses the intellectual property attorney has had experience with, as well as how "gung ho" the attorney is. For example, if your business wishes to take a balanced view of protection, going after only infringers that you feel are causing serious damage, if your intellectual property attorney delights in dropping nuclear bomb style threat letters on indigent college students and little old ladies, perhaps you would do better with an attorney more in line with your personal ethical structure.
Other things to look for in an attorney include whether or not your personal communications style meshes with that of the intellectual property lawyer. A good example is email communication. Email, for many business owners, is a much more efficient and usually cheaper method of communication. As an added bonus, you have a written record of the exchange in case of later misunderstanding. If your business runs on email contact and your attorney uses pen and paper, this may not work out in your best interests.
Once You Find an Intellectual Property Attorney, Then What?
What do you do once you've found your intellectual property attorney? Communicate clearly what your objectives are and let the attorney make suggestions to you as to how to reach those objectives. Intellectual property law is often highly complex and legally technical. If you have questions, ask the intellectual property attorney. If they don't communicate with you, their client, in clear English terms, ask them to. Oftentimes, lawyers forget that they are dealing with non-lawyers and may fall back on legal jargon. If they can't explain concepts to you in a way you understand, perhaps you should find an attorney who will.
On the other hand, you should not expect your intellectual property lawyer to boil 3 years of law school and decades of experience into a fifteen minute "Cliff Notes" summary. As with all things, finding a balance where both of you are comfortable is of great importance.
As a legal client, do not forget that you are in the driver's seat. Your intellectual property attorney can't make business decisions for you. You must weigh his or her advice carefully, then make your decisions as an informed consumer of legal services. Your decisions should feel "right" to you. Insist that your intellectual property lawyer lay out the scenario to you and give you appropriate cost estimates, time estimates, and how the attorney thinks that this action (or inaction) will be of benefit to your business.
Digg
del.icio.us
Blink
Stumble
Spurl
Reddit
Netscape
Furl
Article keywords: intellectual property, copyright, trademark, trade secret, attorney, internet lawyer
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com
Mikki Barry is a business and intellectual property attorney for technology and small business companies. More information is available at www.mikkibarry.com.
|
|
| Top Legal Articles |
- 1). how to defer jury duty By : Phil Wiley
Let’s face it. Jury duty can be a drag, but most of all it’s not always convenient when we’re called up to service. So how can you defer jury duty?
|
|
|
- 3). The New Bankruptcy “Means Test” Explained in Plain English By : Charles J. Phelan
With the new bankruptcy law in effect as of October 17, 2005, there is a lot of confusion regarding the new "means test" requirement. The means test will be used by the courts to determine eligibility for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The purpose of this article is to explain in plain language how the means test works, so that consumers can get a better idea of how they will be affected under the new rules.
|
- 4). Estate Planning - No Contest Clause in your Will By : Ronald Hudkins
Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins
There is value in the story of an older client who had seen a very interesting clause employed in a will. There was a great deal of money at stake and the many family members had little reason to love each other, because they had never met and never knew of each other’s existence. It was expected that the will would be heavily contested on several different fronts in every conceivable way.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| New Legal Articles |
- 1). Personal Injury Compensation Claims By : Julian Hall
Not all accidents lead to legal proceedings, however if there are no serious injuries, you may be entitled to recover damages for property and other expenses from the third party. The likelihood of legal proceedings will usually rest on the quantum, or the amount of financial damage which has ensued from the accident.
|
|
|
- 3). California Contractor License Bond By : Seth Miller
Before a contractor can receive a contractor’s license in California, the contractor must register with the California Contractors State License Board and pay a Contractor's License Bond or a cash credit.
In the event of a contractor's license getting suspended or annulled due to a breach of the Contractors License Law, the contractor must file a disciplinary bond with the CSLB.
|
- 4). Montana Child Support the Treasure State By : Holcy
Montana Child Support
How do you know if you qualify for child support? Child support is available to all single parents in need of financial assistance from the non-custodial parent. In order to receive child support services, you must first fill out an application with the state of Montana. When apply for child support, there will be a non-refundable application fee.
|
- 5). Criminal background check By : Stanley Alpin
Background checks are a useful screening and selection tool for companies. Of the many types of background checks, criminal background checks are routinely carried out by employers to ensure that they are not courting a risk of physical and mental trauma. In fact, in several states in the U.S, criminal background checks are compulsory for prospects who apply for positions in places such as nursing homes, educational institutions, and adult care centers.
|
- 6). Employment background check By : Stanley Alpin
Employment background checks are becoming increasingly common these days. The reasons for this include the fact that negligent hiring lawsuits that result from the actions of an errant employee can damage a company’s credibility and lead to hefty fines; companies have become more selective in their choice of employees following the threat of terrorist activities; accepting a resume at face value has resulted in many companies wasting time and money due to frequent hire-and-fire situations.
|
- 7). How an employee background check works By : Stanley Alpin
Over the past few years pre-employment background checks have gained significance for employers big and small. Companies can either execute the required activities in-house or can outsource them to human resource companies that specialize in carrying out background checks.
There is a lot of paper-work, co-coordination, and follow-up that goes into conducting a background check and for this reasons companies prefer to get the job done by an outside agency.
|
- 8). Is an instant background check even possible? By : Stanley Alpin
Given that there are more than 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States and that information on U.S citizens is scattered across various databases all over 3,142 counties, it is safe to conclude that an instant background check is not possible at present. Yet, there are innumerable companies that purportedly offer instant background checks.
|
- 9). What shows up on a criminal record background check? By : Stanley Alpin
A criminal record background check can throw up a lot of information on an individual including previous arrests as well as conviction and non-conviction information. The information is obtained from Federal Fugitive files, files from the Department of Corrections prison, state criminal records, databases on sex offenders, and prison parole records.
|
- 10). Offshore Trust - Effective Estate Planning, You Decide By : Ronald Hudkins
Copyright 2006 Ronald Hudkins
The creation of offshore trusts and other financial plans is a way of shielding your assets from the laws of the nation in which you reside. It can sometimes be used to remove one of the two certainties of life; taxes. Americans are far less likely than the citizens of other countries to put assets abroad because, although when you receive the benefits of being free of your country’s laws regarding assets (namely taxation) you also lose the aspect of those laws that are designed to protect your assets.
|
|
|
