Overview: Patent & Trademark Attorneys
You have built something, named something, or written something, and you want to know what you can stop other people from doing with it. Four rights do four different jobs here. A patent covers how an invention works and must be applied for. A trademark covers the name or logo that tells buyers who you are. Copyright covers the expression you wrote, drew or recorded. A trade secret covers what you keep quiet, and only while you keep it quiet.
Patent work has its own bar. To prosecute applications at the patent office an attorney must pass a separate examination and hold a science or engineering background, which is why patent firms advertise their technical fields. Trademark and copyright work does not require that. If your matter is a brand name, a general IP attorney is fine. If it is a circuit or a molecule, ask which technology the attorney actually practices in.
Searching comes before filing. A prior art search tells you whether the invention is already out there; a clearance search tells you whether the name is already taken. Both cost money and both save more. Bring your dated notes, drawings, prototypes, any public disclosure or sale you have already made, and the list of countries that matter to you.
Listings here reflect what each firm states about its technical fields, its filing practice and its enforcement work. The state and city lists narrow the field, and each city page shows which firms hold an address there.
Frequently asked questions
What does an intellectual property attorney handle?
Patent drafting and prosecution before the patent office, trademark clearance, filing and oppositions, copyright registration and licensing, and the agreements that keep trade secrets confidential. Beyond filing, the same firms handle infringement letters, licensing deals and the assignment of rights when a company is sold. Litigation over a granted right often moves to a litigation team, sometimes inside the same firm.
Patent, brand name or copyright: which right applies?
It depends on what you made. A patent is for how something works or is made, and only if it is new. A brand name or logo is trademark territory. Text, images, music, code and drawings fall under copyright the moment they are fixed. Anything valuable because nobody else knows it is a trade secret, protected by confidentiality rather than registration.
Why search before filing a patent application?
Because the office will search anyway, and finding the problem first is far cheaper than finding it after drafting. A prior art search shows what already exists in your field and helps the attorney write claims around it. A clearance search on a name does the same job for brands. Neither search is exhaustive, and both change how you spend the rest of the budget.
How is intellectual property work usually billed?
Flat fees are common for defined steps: a search, a drafted application, a trademark filing, a response to an office action. Hourly billing covers opinions, negotiation and disputes. Official fees charged by the patent office are separate from the attorney's fee, and so are the fees of foreign associates when you file abroad. Ask for the whole picture across the life of the application.
What can I do about someone copying my product?
Start by establishing what right you actually hold, because the answer shapes everything else. Options usually run from a letter asking them to stop, to a takedown request with a marketplace or host, to negotiating a license, to court. Attorneys will also ask what you want out of it: money, the copying stopped, or a deal. Sending a demand letter before checking your own position can backfire.
Should I file before showing the invention publicly?
Generally yes. Public disclosure, a sale, a trade show demonstration or a crowdfunding page can affect what you are still able to protect, and the rules differ between countries. Some places allow a short grace period after disclosure and others allow none. If a disclosure has already happened, say so at the first meeting rather than later. It changes the advice completely.
