How can we help each other?

Helping younger IP professionals and practitioners

I’m starting a new series of posts dedicated to helping IP professionals. My hope is that these articles will help IP attorneys train themselves not only to excel in their profession, but also to have a more enjoyable career. I have had the privilege of practicing patent and trademark law since 1999. Things were a little different back then. We didn’t have Dropbox, cloud docketing, blogs or so many of the IP resources we take for granted today.

To learn the practice of intellectual property law, I basically had to apprentice under IP lawyers who were masters of their craft. I am deeply grateful for the IP attorneys who taught me so much during my newbie years. You really do learn the most by doing, and by watching others practicing their profession.

I am now at a stage in my career where I have some experience and a little bit of bandwidth to help younger/youngish practitioners who may need a little guidance in their IP career. Though I am not your mentor / life coach / counselor, I would like to pass along wisdom and experiences in my journey as an IP attorney. My hope is that you will find something useful to apply in your own journey.

If any advice is unhelpful or irrelevant, simply disregard it. If you do find something useful, feel free to shoot me an email. It’s satisfying to know that others are being helped.

IP Prosecution or Litigation?

There is so much to talk about. Perhaps a good place to start is by considering the possible career path goals and then working backwards from your goal. For example, you can choose to focus on:

  • filing patents (patent prosecution) and trademarks (trademark prosecution); or
  • litigating patents and trademarks.

I believe it’s quite challenging to do both IP prosecution and litigation, although it can be done especially if you belong to a small or midsize firm. Straddling both can be daunting because IP litigation, particularly patent litigation, can take so much of your time and energy that you will have little bandwidth for prosecution. When you’re dealing with an upcoming preliminary injunction hearing in a patent infringement case outside of your state, you’re not going to have any mental capacity to deal with patent Office Actions until the hearing is over.

At my firm, for example, we focus primarily on patent applications and trademark filings, both in the US and internationally. We also handle TTAB trademark oppositions and cancellations. TTAB cases are generally a kinder, gentler form of IP litigation that would not require as much devotion as a federal court infringement case.

Within the broad categories of prosecution and litigation, there are niches. Under patent prosecution, for example, do you have a particular technical expertise or job experience from a prior career that would help you stand out in a certain field?

If you are non-technical, you still have many options. You can do trademark prosecution, copyright prosecution and/or all types IP litigation. Some of the best patent litigators I’ve come across were not necessarily technical. Good IP litigators have, among other things, the skill of persuasion. If you have possess that skill both in writing and in speech, perhaps IP litigation is for you (if you don’t mind the long hours, travel and overall stress). Obviously, I don’t do much IP litigation anymore, except for TTAB cases.

IP training involves working on your business

Being a business owner has forced me to grow in many ways beyond legal and technical skills. To grow your career, you have to be thinking about marketing. Even if you are an associate in a firm without any clients of your own (yet), you should think of your career as a business. As the owner of your business, take time to evaluate where you are and where you would like to go.

Time permitting, I’ll try to delve into topics that relate more to business development. As an introvert, I hated networking. But I have found that there are certain ways to genuinely network (hope you don’t mind split infinitives) with folks that fit my personality .

I might occasionally touch on off-topic lifestyle issues, such as trimming down your work hours where possible to take care of your family and health.

Be encouraged!

I read somewhere that most lawyers hate their jobs and would gladly switch to a different career if given the opportunity. If you feel like you should make the switch, go for it!

Other attorneys may find that new opportunities may be hard to encounter or engender. What if you can make the IP legal profession more rewarding? A wise man once said each person should make the most of the situation in which they’re placed. (1 Corinthians 7:17). The practice of IP law can often feel stressful and lonely. Let’s see how we can make it better.

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Frenda Williams
Frenda Williams
2023-02-21
I have had the pleasure of working with Vic and his team at Innovation Capital Law Group on Trademark creation and contracts. As a solo and non-tech founder, the assistance, guidance and recommendations from Vic and his team have been INVALUABLE. And, with the knowledge that I have a Solid, well versed and caring legal team I can turn to, I have the confidence I need to navigate the intricacies of the tech industry as a solo founder. With that being said, If you’re a startup and you’re looking for a legal team that speaks your language, knows the industry and makes you feel like family…. Innovation Capital Law Group is a Perfect fit for you, your company and your team. Five out of Five Stars… don’t let their brilliance blind you 😁
Shiwei Liu
Shiwei Liu
2023-02-20
Excellent service and quick response. Lots of informative documents on its website.
Chang Chien Michael
Chang Chien Michael
2023-02-20
I have worked with iCap for more than 7 years. I am very glad with his professional knowledge that 7 utility patents were granted by USPTO. Vic and his team are very efficient and knowledgeable. Every time he can transcribe my design idea perfectly in two weeks and file it with no rejection from USPTO. The other service including the granted patent following up is always in time to remind me to take actions. That is why I still stick on iCap as my first priority when I want to file a US patent.
Mats Johansson
Mats Johansson
2023-02-20
We have been happy client for 10+ years. Awesome Patent Law Firm!
Hanson Chang
Hanson Chang
2023-02-16
Glad to write a review for Innovation Capital Law Group. We previously worked with a big law firm (2200 employees) on our patents, and decided to shift over to Innovation Capital. It was a great decision, this team got our patents done faster, more effectively, at a lower cost, and with broader claims. Win all around
Genevieve Springer
Genevieve Springer
2022-09-09
Clear, discernible tools and strategies couched within a business conceived from a genuine interest in doing right by founders.
InPlay Inc
InPlay Inc
2022-06-30
Vic and his team have been providing us with the best patent application experiences we could ever have in our entire career life! Their professionalism and technical knowledge have really saved us a lot of communication effort and time on the applications. Definitely highly recommend if anyone is looking for help with IP protection for their business.
Meg Crowley
Meg Crowley
2022-03-05
After working with Vic and his team at Innovation Capital Law Group, our organization is confident our trademarks were solid and protected. Thank you team.
Andy Dong
Andy Dong
2022-02-28
I have been using Innovation Capital Law Group for a few years and continue to use them. They have provided an excellent services on our legal issues including intellectual properties and patents . They are very responsive, easy to work with and very competent . I highly recommend them.

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