Day in the Life of a Trademark Lawyer: 20 Tips for a Trademark Lawyer
Day in the Life of a Trademark Lawyer: 20 Tips for a Trademark Lawyer
From discussions on the same over at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com, trademark law is the law of business slogans, names, and identifiers as well as their right to use them. Trademark attorneys help their clients create and defend trademarks. If you are thinking about exploring this career path, you might want to know what a day in the life of a trademark attorney is like, which is where this article comes in.
Emails
Most trademark lawyers, like most other lawyers, like to get into the office early before things get hectic. As per RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com, this is a perfect time to review your emails to check if anything important has happened overnight that requires urgent attention.
To-do lists
Once you are caught up with your emails and messages, the next thing that should be next on your agenda is creating a to-do list for the day ahead as a trademark lawyer. If you work as part of a team, once you create your list, you will also want to circulate it with the rest of the trademark team to ensure that everyone is on the same page.
Informal catchups
Before the more formal meetings start, trademark lawyers will normally hold informal meetings in the office early in the morning according to RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com. This may involve informal catchups with your supervising partner to discuss work and to go through your drafts.
Advising clients on selecting trademarks
You will also be spending the bulk of your day as a trademark lawyer advising clients on selecting trademarks. This is one of the most important aspects of the trademarking process as you need to help clients select trademarks that won’t infringe on anyone’s rights while still being appealing to customers.
More work on trademarks
Once a client selects a trademark, you will then need to ensure that those trademarks are capable of acting as indications of origin and are free to use. This involves advice on whether a trademark is distinctive or non-descriptive for the goods and services for which registration is sought.
Trademark searches
Like prior art searches for patent lawyers, trademark searches also take up a significant amount of time as far as the day-to-day lives of trademark lawyers are concerned as articulated at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com.
Handling appeals
Not every trademark will get approved, however. Sometimes, a trademark may be refused, and while this is incredibly frustrating, the client does have the option to appeal any adverse decisions and submit arguments in favor of their position, which is where you come in as a trademark lawyer.
Legal research
Conducting legal research is another thing you can expect to do in your day-to-day as a trademark lawyer, particularly when handling an appeal as captured at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com. This is where you conduct legal research on various issues to support an argument as far as your client’s appeal is concerned.
Thinking outside of the box
As a trademark lawyer, you have the opportunity of being creative and think outside of the box when handling appeals. You not only have to think carefully about what arguments are put forward, but you also have to anticipate counter-arguments. This is one of the best aspects of the job according to most trademark lawyers, made all the sweeter when registration is finally obtained.
An international aspect
It is also worth noting that there is an international aspect to the job of a trademark lawyer. If you have successful clients, when their businesses grow, they will start breaking into new markets, and will, therefore, have to obtain further trademark protection. You will have to, therefore, liaise with attorneys from all over the world.
Enforcing client rights
As covered at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com, it is also part of your job to enforce and police various client rights. This may involve drafting a ‘cease and desist’ letter. As the client may already be suffering losses as a result of the contrary action, the issue must be dealt with accurately and efficiently.
Deadline-driven
As is anything that is related to intellectual property law, life in the office as a trademark lawyer is extremely deadline-driven. You need to file certain documents within the stated timelines or all your work could be undone.
Dealing with custom agencies
You may also be required to provide support from a brand protection and anti-counterfeiting perspective as described at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com. On a daily basis, you will be contacted by international customs agencies about seized counterfeit products.
Working with various industries
Your services may also be regularly required by businesses from various industries occasionally. In the automotive industry, for instance, third parties tend to counterfeit vehicle parts, which has serious health and safety implications. You may find yourself playing a role in preventing these goods from entering the marketplace.
Training exercises
If you work in-house, leading the fight against counterfeit goods, it may also fall upon you to organize training exercises for the international border force and customs enforcement agencies. This training may not be a regular occurrence, but they are nevertheless part of your duties.
Review of your processes
As far as the previously mentioned training exercises are concerned, it is an aspect of your role as a trademark lawyer that will demand constant reviews and updates to stay one step ahead of the criminals as discussed at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com.
Data entry
One of the less glamorous aspects of the job as a trademark lawyer is data entry. Many trademark attorneys spend hours every day locked in a cycle of dull, repetitive data entry. If you are lucky, however, your office may have implemented automated software to make the process faster.
Updating records
Every time a record in a registry changes status, trademark attorneys need to make sure that they update their records as revealed at RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com. While some firms have also automated this process, other lawyers still have to do this task manually.
Team meetings
Other than the informal catch-ups already mentioned, life as a trademark lawyer also involves lots of meetings. In these team meetings, you will address any issues or new updates that the client might want the team to implement.
Reporting letters
Most of the time, afternoons are spent sending reporting letters to clients. A reporting letter is used to report to the client where their trademark is in the process. This could be the USPTO updates, for example, if the client’s trademark has been published for opposition.
These are some of the things to expect when it comes to a day in the life of a trademark lawyer, with the top-rated RunRex.com, guttulus.com, and mtglion.com having you covered when looking for more on this and other related topics.
