What does an intellectual property lawyer do?
An intellectual property (IP) lawyer is a licensed professional who is responsible for protecting a client's intellectual property as well as provide counseling about matters concerning intellectual property. Intellectual property lawyers are required to review or produce important documents and complete the analysis of highly technical materials. They prepare documents so that they can attain patents and trademarks for their client's intellectual property. Intellectual property lawyers are also required to defend businesses and individuals against the over-assertion of intellectual properties.
Intellectual property lawyer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real intellectual property lawyer resumes:
- Develop and implement an agency-wide client privacy policy and manage agency response to all matters involving subpoenas and warrants.
- Prepare, file and prosecute trademark applications with the USPTO.
- Prepare, file, and prosecute patent and trademark applications before the USPTO and foreign patent offices.
- Reduce expenses and identify litigation targets through review and pruning of existing patent portfolio.
- Work on drafting and prosecution of biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device and chemical patent applications
- Prepare and prosecute U.S. and international patent applications in the pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, chemicals, materials and mechanical arts.
- Prepare infringement and FTO opinions in conjunction with partner attorneys.
- Draft amendments and replies in response to several hundr PTO office actions.
- Create, assist clients in executing, and record assignments with the PTO.
- Contribute to European patent oppositions and appeals.
- Avert costly trade secret litigation by identifying employee misconduct and negotiating release of information.
- Provide assistance to physician office staff and patients initiate prior authorizations and submit all necessary insurance forms and program applications.
- Draft office action responses and appeals.
- Advise clients regarding intellectual property matters, including freedom to operate (FTO) clearance, and infringement opinion work.
- Analyze national legal practice comparing it to EU law.
Intellectual property lawyer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 14% of Intellectual Property Lawyers are proficient in Litigation, Legal Advice, and Due Diligence. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Problem-solving skills, and Research skills.
We break down the percentage of Intellectual Property Lawyers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Litigation, 14%
Averted costly trade secret litigation by identifying employee misconduct and negotiating release of information.
- Legal Advice, 9%
Delivered legal advice and guidance to engineering efforts concerning patent protection of cellular phone products, accessories, and cable modems.
- Due Diligence, 8%
Conduct due diligence review of intellectual property assets related to corporate acquisitions.
- Legal Issues, 8%
Utilized IP knowledge and experience to educate and update executives on legal issues involving wireless network architecture.
- Law Firm, 8%
Develop infringement arguments in coordination with law firms enforcing patent portfolios managed by GPC.
- Intellectual Property Law, 6%
Conducted client counseling meetings, and performed legal research in intellectual property law related areas.
"litigation," "legal advice," and "due diligence" are among the most common skills that intellectual property lawyers use at work. You can find even more intellectual property lawyer responsibilities below, including:
Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for an intellectual property lawyer to carry out their responsibilities is analytical skills. This skill is important for the role because "lawyers interpret the law as it applies to their client’s case." Additionally, an intellectual property lawyer resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "prepare infringement analysis for clients accused of patent infringement and other litigation support issues. "
Problem-solving skills. Another essential skill to perform intellectual property lawyer duties is problem-solving skills. Intellectual property lawyers responsibilities require that "lawyers must evaluate information to propose viable solutions, mediate disputes, and reach agreements or settlements for their clients." Intellectual property lawyers also use problem-solving skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "formulated litigation strategies, including identification of dispute resolution opportunities ! "
Research skills. This is an important skill for intellectual property lawyers to perform their duties. For an example of how intellectual property lawyer responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "lawyers need to find laws and regulations that apply to a specific matter in order to provide appropriate legal advice for their clients." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of an intellectual property lawyer: "patent litigation support and invalidity research. ".
The three companies that hire the most intellectual property lawyers are:
- Sanofi US22 intellectual property lawyers jobs
- Accenture11 intellectual property lawyers jobs
- Thermo Fisher Scientific6 intellectual property lawyers jobs
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Compare different intellectual property lawyers
Intellectual property lawyer vs. Litigation associate
A Litigation Associate offers legal advice for individuals involved in lawsuits and represents them in court. They prepare pleading, collect evidence, defend depositions, and manage the client database.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, intellectual property lawyer responsibilities require skills like "legal advice," "due diligence," "intellectual property law," and "uspto." Meanwhile a typical litigation associate has skills in areas such as "commercial litigation," "discovery motions," "insurance coverage," and "civil litigation." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Litigation associates tend to reach lower levels of education than intellectual property lawyers. In fact, litigation associates are 6.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 13.7% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Intellectual property lawyer vs. Associate counsel
An Associate Counsel assists in protecting an organization's legal interests and maintaining its operations within the scope established by law. They are focused on the negotiation of complex acquisitions, sales, and funding.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, intellectual property lawyer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "law firm," "intellectual property law," "uspto," and "patent litigation." Meanwhile, an associate counsel has duties that require skills in areas such as "intellectual property," "substance abuse," "legal support," and "veterans." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Associate counsels earn similar levels of education than intellectual property lawyers in general. They're 2.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 13.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Intellectual property lawyer vs. Corporate counsel
A Corporate Counsel, also known as a corporate lawyer, works for a business or company providing legal advice to the employer. They usually work in the employers main office, but also can travel to participate in meetings, trials, and other legal proceedings.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from intellectual property lawyer resumes include skills like "law firm," "intellectual property law," "uspto," and "patent litigation," whereas a corporate counsel is more likely to list skills in "intellectual property," "legal support," "legal risks," and "internal clients. "
When it comes to education, corporate counsels tend to earn similar degree levels compared to intellectual property lawyers. In fact, they're 2.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 7.9% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Intellectual property lawyer vs. Staff attorney
Staff Attorneys are legal employees who work for a variety of organizations, often as full-time employees. They use their legal expertise to help deal with day-to-day legal issues with which their organization needs regular assistance.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between intellectual property lawyers and staff attorneys, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an intellectual property lawyer might have more use for skills like "law firm," "intellectual property law," "uspto," and "patent litigation." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of staff attorneys require skills like "legal services," "juris," "administrative agencies," and "real estate. "
The average resume of staff attorneys showed that they earn lower levels of education compared to intellectual property lawyers. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 5.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 14.5%.Types of intellectual property lawyer
Updated January 8, 2025
