Atlanta Patent Attorneys & Lawyers for Hire
How it Works
Kanika Radhakrishnan
Richard Eldredge
Ross Brandborg
Tiffany Williams
Jarrett Silver
Kenneth Knox
Nora Tocups
Jennifer Medlin
Katherine Gruner
Steven Stewart
Atlanta Patent Lawyers for Hire
Why Hire a Patent Lawyer?
Although you don't need an attorney to file a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), it is in your best interest to have one. Your intellectual property is important for the success of your business. Cutting corners early on can hurt your business in the long run.
If you are inexperienced with writing an application for a patent, you may not understand or properly file everything. Patent law is not user-friendly. There are lots of rules, statutes, and case law to consider.
In addition to passing the bar exam in the state of Georgia, a patent attorney in Atlanta will have also passed a second exam called the "patent bar exam." This gives them a license to represent clients before the USPTO. Patent attorneys are required study and become experts in at least one technical area that lets them to better understand their clients' inventions. When you start to look for a patent attorney, you will want someone who is an expert in your industry.
Hiring a patent lawyer before you begin the process will help you get your temporary provisional patent quickly to protect your idea while you refine it. Then, your patent attorney can handle all the deadlines for re-filing your non-provisional patent.
Patent lawyers also have connections with venture capitalists and angel investors who can help fund your invention and your business.
How to Find the Best Patent Lawyer
The first thing you need to do when you are thinking about hiring a patent lawyer is to consider your needs.
If your business is based on creating, marketing, and selling innovative products, you will want a patent lawyer who specializes in those types of patents and copyrights. If you are online and want to pursue publishing with your company, you will want a lawyer who has expertise in information technology law.
If you have already hired a startup or business lawyer, you should ask them if they have patent lawyers in their firm or are patent lawyers themselves. If you have worked with your business lawyer for a long time and have a god relationship with them, then they could be the best option.
If you do not already have a lawyer or they are not a patent lawyer, then you should begin by asking for recommendations from trusted business people. Search online for lawyers that specialize in intellectual property or contact the Georgia Bar Association for listings in Atlanta.
Once you have a shortlist, do a bit more research on the people on your list. The Georgia Bar Association can tell you if the lawyers on your list are in good standing.
Before you meet with the lawyers on your short list, you should do some research on any competition you might face. A quick search on the U.S. Patent Office website will help you find information on patents that already exist in your industry.
Set up meetings with the lawyers that seem like a good fit. Come ready with all the documents you have for the invention you want to patent. Be prepared to explain what your business is about and what you are looking for from the patent lawyer.
Be sure to discuss pricing during your meetings. The average cost of a patent lawyer varies greatly depending on the experience of the attorney and their location. Lawyers whose firms are located in downtown Atlanta will have a higher overhead than those located in the suburbs. If you want an experienced patent attorney in Atlanta you can expect to pay anywhere between $400 and $800 per hour. If you broaden your search to the suburbs and to smaller firms, you will pay between $200 and $400 per hour.
Questions for Patent Lawyers
You should have several questions ready for your interviews. Your questions should include:
- What is your technical background? You want to find a patent lawyer who not only has experience with patent law but understands the technical side of your innovations. If they have a better understanding of the technical side of your inventions, they can write more precise patent applications that will better hold up against litigation.
- What are some of the patents you've registered in the past? Do they have experience with patents like yours? What sort of things have they registered in the past? You want to make sure that they have experience working on patents that are as technical as yours.
- What percentage of your patent applications have actually been granted? This is a very valuable question to ask any patent attorney. Just because they have filed a lot of patent applications for inventions in your field, doesn't mean they were successful applications. You want to find yourself an attorney who gets the patents that he or she has applied for.
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In the event that you are unsatisfied with the work of an attorney you hired on UpCounsel, just let us know. We’ll take care of it and refund your money up to $5,000 so you can hire another attorney to help you.Legal Services Offered by Our On-Demand Atlanta Patent Attorneys
Our experienced Atlanta patent attorneys & lawyers represent individuals and businesses throughout the world with domestic and foreign patent preparation and prosecution matters. They have extensive experience handling applications from nearly every sector of technology, including biotechnology, computer hardware and software, communication networks, internet systems and methods, automotive, medical equipment, construction technology, consumer electronics, and clean technology research and development.
Our patent attorneys are of the most highly trained in the industry, requiring a scientific background, and passing a second level of testing known as the Patent Bar Examination. Thousands of patents are submitted to the patent office every day and a patent committee reviews each patent for its validity. The process requires that correctly drafted documentation present a clear case for the novelty of the invention, which is best made by a patent attorney with a higher education background in your industry.
Our Atlanta patent attorneys & lawyers can help you file a provisional patent, which lasts for 1-year and allows you to immediately begin using/manufacturing your invention with the confidence that your idea is protected. These types of patents are great if you think your idea will change a lot over the next year before you file a (non-provisional) patent. These patents are easier to obtain and are less expensive but you should have a patent lawyer review your provisional patent application to insure that you are meeting your objectives when you file your patent.
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