Intellectual property broadly falls into two categories-industrial property and copyright. Industrial property includes scientific and industrial inventions, patents and trademarks. Copyright on the other hand is more inclined towards literary or artistic works such as poetry, novels, plays, films, music, paintings, sculptures, photographs and even architectural design. Within these two categories of Intellectual property law are encompassed six areas of law: patent law, trademark law, copyright law, trade secret law, licensing and unfair competition.
The constant development and actualisation of ideas in the world of science and technology has played a big part in highlighting the need for lawyers with specific expertise on the area of intellectual law. But businesses and individuals in other industries such as authors, musicians and fine artists are increasingly finding the need to advertise for intellectual property lawyer jobs.
Lawyer jobs in intellectual property deal which all legal aspects that relate to the IP of their employer or client. In relation to industrial property, the intellectual property lawyers will provide guidance in filing out the application for a trademark or patent as well as defending the trademark or patent if there is evidence that it has been infringed upon.
To understand the important role that intellectual property lawyer jobs play, take the case of someone that comes up with a landmark scientific invention. The inventor will of course be well versed in the technical aspects of their invention but they would probably not be as versed in the laws around filing a patent on the invention.
Knowledge of IP law and the process involved for filing patents is what the intellectual property lawyer brings to the equation. It is true that anyone that invents something has the right to directly file their own patent application but without the specialist knowledge that intellectual lawyers provide, it is easy for one to get into difficulties and end up spending more time and money than was necessary simply because of errors made during the filing.
In order to have a good shot at being considered for lawyer jobs in intellectual property, you must at least possess a bachelor's degree. Although there is no particular undergraduate major that you must have before you proceed to study intellectual property law, a science or engineering background will be beneficial as most of today's intellectual property lawyer jobs are in these fields or relate to issues around either one of these two industries.
The next step is to study and sit for the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) one year prior to enrolling in law school. The LSAT is a test that plays an important role in determining who gets into law school and who does not. There is a website which provides information and past exams for reference (Isac.org). Admissions usually run between the months of January and March.
As part of your application to law school, you will be expected to provide a personal statement, a resume, recommendations and a fee (about $75). Your application should be submitted through the Law School Admissions Council. Make sure that you check to see whether you qualify for any financial aid in the form of grants, loans or scholarships by talking to the university's financial aid office.
Once you graduate from law school, you are one step closer to lawyer jobs in intellectual property. You now need to get your state bar license as well as pass the patent bar. This is an examination given by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Without this clearance, you will not be allowed to present any case before the Patent and Trademark Office.
- See Top 10 Reasons Most Law Firms Have No Idea How to Hire and Evaluate Patent Attorneys for more information.
