Intellectual property law is the area of the law that includes patent law, copyright law, trademark law and trade secret law, together with some aspects of other branches of the law, such as licensing and unfair competition.

Intellectual property law protects creations of the human mind. Patent law protects inventions and discoveries-e.g., new products and processes. Copyright law protects original works of authorship-e.g., music, plays, maps, and literary works, including computer programs. Trademark law protects brand names and other symbols that indicate the source of goods and services. Trade secret law protects confidential business information. The law of licensing enables owners of patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets to share them with others on a mutually agreed upon basis. Provisions of the law of unfair competition and statutes dealing with counterfeiting and piracy also protect against those who seek to obtain a "free-ride" on the efforts and achievements of creative people.

The various intellectual property law specialties are related, often overlap and are frequently practiced together. For example, a new process for cloning plant cells can be protected as a trade secret prior to being patented. For another example, copyright and patent law may be applied to protect creativity and innovation embodied in computer software.

In this brochure all of the above-mentioned specialties will be briefly discussed. Patent law, however, discussed in more detail because of its unique educational and registration requirements.

Crossroads

Intellectual property lawyers combine their legal skills with other skills in technology, business, and the arts. Often a company's lifeblood is its ownership of intellectual property. The lawyer who understands the nature of an invention, as well as how it affects the client's business, will be best equipped to assist the client in protecting and managing the client's patent portfolio.

Those who practice intellectual property law have a unique opportunity to be exposed to the cutting edge of research and development in many scientific and technical areas. They can participate in the patenting of pioneering breakthroughs, as well as improvements to already existing inventions. The technology areas utilizing patent protection are extremely diverse, ranging, for example, from rocket fuel to floor wax, microwave heaters to food packages, and simple headache cures to complex DNA sequences for state-of-the-art drugs.

Diversity

Intellectual property lawyers wear many professional hats:

• They are writers-e.g., they draft patent applications and licensing agreements as well as the kinds of legal documents that other lawyers draft, such as appeal briefs and memoranda.
• They are counselors-e.g., they render opinions as to whether a client's intellectual property can be patented, copyrighted, or registered as a trademark, and what the best forms of protection will be. They also advise clients regarding whether their patents, trademarks or copyrights are being infringed, or whether the client's contemplated conduct might infringe the intellectual property rights of another.
• Some intellectual property lawyers function as scientists or engineers. Patent lawyers in particular must have a technical background in order to understand a client's invention as well as the prior art in the same or related fields, and to give sound advice as to patentability of the invention and any possible infringement.
• Intellectual property lawyers are often entrepreneurs. Clients frequently depend on these lawyers for sound advice as to whether to move forward with a new venture.
• Intellectual property lawyers are also advocates. Gaining protection for a particular client's intellectual property may involve advocacy before an administrative agency or a court. Once the client's rights have been secured, the lawyer may be called on to defend those rights against infringement, or to defend a client accused of infringing another's rights.

People

The practice of intellectual property law is a people-oriented profession. The lawyer works with a wide range of clients, from small-business owners to top management officials of large corporations, and from garage inventors to prize-winning scientists.

Inventors are a significant key to the practice of patent law, even though the focus is on the particular innovation. The inventor is an expert on his/her invention, and is indispensable during the process of obtaining patent protection.

For many businesses, obtaining intellectual property protection is a critical step in an integrated business activity. The timing of the grant of protection affects a company's marketing, sales, personnel practices, and research and development efforts. The process of obtaining protection brings the intellectual property lawyer into close working contact with professionals in many business areas.

In addition, intellectual property lawyers themselves are a community. The American Bar Association (ABA) and many state and local bar associations have sections or committees devoted to areas related to intellectual property law. The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) is focused exclusively on the field of intellectual property law. Intellectual property lawyers frequently gather at association meetings and continuing legal education seminars to learn, socialize, and exchange ideas and information.

Satisfaction

Intellectual property law provides a unique opportunity to blend an undergraduate degree or prior professional experience with the practice of law. A writer, a creative artist or a computer programmer may derive great personal satisfaction from the practice of copyright law. A chemist or an engineer may find the practice of patent and trade secret law to be the most fulfilling way to use all of his or her professional abilities.

Opportunity

Recent times have witnessed an explosion in the field of intellectual property. New developments in the law (for example, the patentability of living organisms) generate new needs for lawyers with specialized backgrounds (such as biotechnology), both in the Patent and Trademark Office and in private and corporate practice. Even when other markets for the services of lawyers are affected by recession, the demand for intellectual property lawyers typically remains high. As long as people invent or create, there is a need for intellectual property lawyers to protect and enforce intellectual property rights.