How To Find A Patent Attorney

Save Time and Money By Learning From My Mistakes! When I decided to open my own patent law firm, I started searching for an accountant. In particular, I wanted an accountant who is local to Houston, Texas, and who has experience working with small businesses. I started out by asking Houston attorneys and professionals if they could give me a referral. Most said they were looking for a good accountant themselves. Could I recommend anyone? Others raved about how good their accountant was. However, when I tried to contact their accountant, my emails and phone calls were ignored most of the time. Other times, when someone did answer the phone, I was told that the accountant did not provide free consultations. It would be $200 for them to even pick up the phone to see if they could help me. I thought CPAs were a highly regulated, professional field. Yelp was turning out to be useless and Google was even worse. Even the professionals at H&R Block couldn’t be bothered to return a simple email. It felt like I was playing Russian roulette with my business. All of this leads to months of frustration and despair. Then one day everything…

Finding A Good Patent Attorney For Who You Are This is the second post in my series entitled “How To Find A Patent Attorney: My Guide for Performing Your Own Patent Attorney Search.” Please click here to read the first post. First, it must be acknowledged that you are not looking for just any patent attorney. You are looking for a great patent attorney who you can trust with your business. However, instead of looking for a great patent attorney, I suggest that you start by looking for the best patent attorney for you. To do that, you will need to know who you are, what you need, and a little about patent attorney culture. Knowing Who You Are (And How They See You) It is important to know your limitations because this knowledge will focus your patent attorney search. In particular, it will shape how patent attorneys see you. If you are an entrepreneur or a founder of a start-up, then most patent attorneys will not want to work with you for the following reasons. You Have A Limited Budget: Patent attorneys at larger firms wants to charge top rates for a steady stream of patent work, not draft…

Finding An Experienced Patent Attorney For What You Need This is the third post in my series entitled “How To Find A Patent Attorney: My Guide for Performing Your Own Patent Attorney Search.” If you read my second post, you will know that I recommend that founders of start-ups, entrepreneurs, and general counsel of small businesses search for a patent attorney at a law firm of 20 or fewer attorneys, preferably 10 or fewer attorneys. To find out why click here. This bit of advice can save you time, money, and trouble, but it doesn’t really narrow your search that much. Therefore, I also suggest that you narrow your search based on your needs. Knowing What You Need I suggest narrowing your search based on the type of services that you are looking for. Patent attorneys and patent agents use specific terms of art to describe who we are and the services we provide. By knowing what you need, you can refine your search by knowing the exact terms and jargon that you are searching for. Types of Services: What Are You Trying To Do? I Want a Patent If you want to pay someone to draft and file a…

Finding The Best Patent Attorney For You This is the fourth post in my series entitled “How To Find A Patent Attorney: My Guide for Performing Your Own Patent Attorney Search.” If you read my second post, you will know that I recommend that founders of start-ups, entrepreneurs, and general counsel of small businesses search for a patent attorney at a law firm of 20 or fewer attorneys, preferably 10 or fewer attorneys. If you read my third post, you will know which type of attorney to search for based on the service that you need. Now, it’s time to focus on matching your needs to their experience. Therefore, I suggest that you further narrow your search for a patent attorney based on their technology area, the focus of their practice, and their years of experience. No One Can Do It All Patent law is an incredibly complex and dynamic area of law that deals with the incredibly complex and dynamic area of science and technology. Patent attorneys who claim they can do it all remind me of the old snake oil salesmen. Their healing tonics could cure everything from cancer to warts to the common cold! Just one dab…

How To Search For A Good Patent Attorney This is the fifth post in my series entitled “How To Find A Patent Attorney: My Guide for Performing Your Own Patent Attorney Search.” If you read the previous posts, you should be searching for a patent attorney at a firm of 20 attorneys or less with a strong technical background in your technology and at least two years of experience in the service that you need. You may also be searching by a preferred location. With this focus, it’s time to actually search for your patent attorney. At this point, things get interesting. Patent scam artists and large, expensive law firms can be extremely aggressive in their advertising. Don’t believe me? Type the words “patent attorney” into Google and look at all the ads. On the other hand, the best patent attorneys and law firms are reluctant to advertise or market. First, they don’t want to look like the scam artists and large, expensive law firms who advertise like crazy. Second, they feel like the best patent attorneys don’t need to advertise. Their preferred marketing technique is good word of mouth (WOM). When was the last time you saw a Rolls-Royce…

How To Verify The Credentials Of A Patent Attorney This is the sixth post in my series entitled “How To Find A Patent Attorney: My Guide for Performing Your Own Patent Attorney Search.” If you read the previous posts, you should have made a list of potential patent attorneys that you are interested in hiring. Now it’s time to make sure that they are who they say they are. As I mentioned in my last post, one of the challenges with finding a good, affordable patent attorney is that many good patent attorney at smaller firms do not like to advertise. In contrast, many patent scam artists and large, expensive firms love to advertise. However, most patent attorneys will have some sort of “digital presence” online as a web page or Linked-In. So I suggest taking the following steps to verify the credentials of a potential patent attorney. Step 1: Visit Their Webpage — At a minimum, their web page should have a professional photo of them, their mailing address, email address, and a phone number where they can be reached. Their web page will also indicate if they are registered to practice before the U. S. Patent and Trademark…

How Much Does A Patent Attorney Cost? What Should I Expect? This is the sixth post in my series entitled “How To Find A Patent Attorney: My Guide for Performing Your Own Patent Attorney Search.” If you read the previous posts, you should have made a list of potential patent attorneys that you are interested in hiring. Now it’s time to make sure that they are who they say they are. This is the seventh post my series entitled “How To Find A Patent Attorney: My Guide for Performing Your Own Patent Attorney Search.” If you read the previous posts, you should have performed a patent attorney search and verified the credentials of the patent attorneys on your list. Now it’s time to discuss the patent attorney costs and expectations that you should have of the patent attorney and they should have of you. What You Should Expect From Your Patent Attorney: Professionalism — Patent attorneys and patent agents should never be rude or condescending to you or your staff. Responsiveness — You should expect responses to emails and voice mail by the close of the next business day unless you receive an out of office message. Patent attorney who…

How To Get The Most Out Of A Free Consultation This is the eighth post in my series “How To Find A Patent Attorney: My Guide for Performing Your Own Patent Attorney Search,” and will cover “How To Get The Most Out Of A Free Consultation.” If you have read my previous posts, then you know have a list of patent attorneys and an idea of patent attorney costs and expectations. Now, it’s time to for the free consultation. Step 1: Scheduling The Free Initial Consultation (a.k.a. A Preliminary Conflicts Check) The first step in interviewing a patent attorney is to schedule the consultation. I suggest that you start by sending the patent attorney an email that contains the following information. Remember, patent attorneys are terrified of losing money due to conflicts (especially at larger firms) so you may need to assure them that there is little or no danger or a conflict before they will agree to speak to you. Subject Line: I was referred to you by [[name]]. I am interested in your patent services. (This gets your email opened) Your Referral Source (A referral gives you credibility) Your Name (Needed for the conflicts check) The Name of…

This is the last post in my series “How To Find A Patent Attorney: My Guide for Performing Your Own Patent Attorney Search.” Thank you for taking the time to read my suggestions for how to find a good patent attorney. I hope you found these suggestions helpful. If you are an entrepreneur, founder of a start-up, or an in-house general practice attorney at a small business, here is a quick summary. Executive Summary Finding A Good Patent Attorney For Who You Are Search look for a patent attorney at a law firm of 20 or fewer attorneys. Finding An Experienced Patent Attorney For What You Need If you want to get a patent, search for “patent attorneys” and “patent agents,” especially ones with “patent preparation” and “prosecution experience.” If you want to avoid getting sued, search for patent attorneys with “patent opinion” experience. Finding The Best Patent Attorney For You Search for patent attorneys with advanced technical degrees that match your technical area, have at least two years of experience providing the service you are looking for, and, optionally, are located in favorable geographical areas. How to Search for a Patent Attorney Use the information gathered to solicit specific…