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Vault Law Resource Center

Intellectual Property

Overview

Intellectual Property practice generally falls into one of three buckets: transactional IP, IP litigation, and patent prosecution. It is rare for an attorney to work in both IP transactions and litigation at a large firm but more common in smaller practices. Transactional IP attorneys work on transactions to license intellectual property assets or in support of M&A transactions to handle the IP-related issues in such deals. IP litigators work on disputes involving patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. Patent prosecution involves assisting clients in obtaining patents from the Patent and Trademark Office. Patent prosecutors are required to have a science degree and to pass the Patent Bar examination. Patent lawyers evaluate whether their client’s request impinges on other intellectual property, defend against opposition to client’s applications in administrative trials, and oppose applications that impinge on the client’s intellectual property. Lawyers working in “hard IP”—patents and biotech assets—are often required to have a technical background even if not practicing before the patent bar and an undergraduate or graduate degree in science or engineering is helpful. IP lawyers need to fully understand the technologies, products, and businesses of their clients to represent their clients well.

Top Ranked Firms




Practice Area Q&A’s

Cooley

Betsy Flanagan & Patrick Lauppe

Desmarais LLP

Paul Bondor & Joze Welsh

Finnegan

Dan Tucker & Lynn Parker Dupree

Kilpatrick

Jenine A. Rossington

Knobbe Martens

Peter Law & Doug Wentzel

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox PLLC

Rebekah Holtz & Louis Panzica

Fenwick

Laura Moran & Allen Wang

Finnegan

Cara Regan & Connie Lee

Knobbe Martens

Sabrina Wang

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox PLLC

Paige Cloud & Steve Pappas

Wilson Sonsini

Lauren Gallo White

Advice from Vault Law

Practice Area Insights: The Unique Wrinkles of an IP Practice

Practice Area Insights: The Unique Wrinkles of an IP Practice

By Vault Law Editors

The Unusual Career Path of a Patent Attorney

The Unusual Career Path of a Patent Attorney

By Julia DiPrete

What’s Hot, or Not, in 2023

What’s Hot, or Not, in 2023

By Rebecca King-Newman

In Demand and Emerging Practice Areas

In Demand and Emerging Practice Areas

By Peter Horvath