How to Find an Intellectual Property Lawyer in Los Angeles

An intellectual property lawyer in Los Angeles can help legally protect your work from theft or improper use. This is particularly common in Los Angeles due to the large community of artists in the area.

In this article, you will discover how to find an intellectual property lawyer in Los Angeles so you can protect your creative work.

Intellectual Property Lawyer Los Angeles

Copyrights, patents, and trademarks serve an important role in our society, helping people protect their right of ownership over intangible creations, such as writing, music, ideas, and even product designs. When someone invalidates these rights by stealing either part or all of the concept, California law gives the original owner the right to sue.

Unfortunately, these cases are rarely straightforward; there is a considerable amount of “gray area” involved in intellectual property law. This can make cases unnecessarily complex and even put both parties at risk for loss.

If you are fighting to protect your intellectual property, or you have been accused of stealing someone’s intellectual property, it is vital to secure an intellectual property lawyer in Los Angeles.

Here’s how to find an intellectual property lawyer in Los Angeles.

Do You Really Need an IP Lawyer?

Before searching for and choosing an intellectual property (IP) lawyer, it is important to identify your actual needs. At the most basic definition, an IP attorney specializes in enforcing and protecting rights to intangible works, including product designs, artwork, music, and inventions.

However, this really just a surface-level glimpse at what can be a much more complex picture. Intellectual property law is incredibly vast and broad; just because someone specializes in corporate patents, for example, doesn’t mean they will have experience handling copyright cases in the music industry. Similarly, just because a lawyer specializes in handling copyright cases for musicians doesn’t mean they’ll have experience handling lawsuits for actors, corporate product designers, or inventors.

Intellectual property law is generally segmented into specific categories or “areas of expertise.” Asking whether a prospective lawyer has experience in these specialties can help you ensure you match with the right person:

• Licensing
• Patent Law
• Trademark Law
• Copyright Law
• Trade Secret Law
• Unfair Competition

It is important to remember that every creator automatically gains the rights to his or her own product from the moment of creation in the United States. Thus, intellectual property is not necessarily limited to corporations, businesses, and celebrities. If you create a song, a piece of art, a product design, or a work of fiction, for example, you still reserve all rights to the creation even if you don’t make it official.

It doesn’t matter if the creation is worth a lot of money or just a little – or even none at all. You still have the right to demand compensation if your work is stolen.

Finding the Right Lawyer

Searching for an intellectual property lawyer in Los Angeles has never been easier than it is today thanks to the ability to search online. Start your search by heading to your favorite search engine; try keywords like “intellectual property lawyer Los Angeles” or “copyright lawyers Los Angeles.”

Make a note of any results on the first page that directs you to an attorney or law firm specializing in intellectual property. This will become your shortlist.

Note that searching for attorneys online can be a bit of a double-edged sword. While you will instantly find a long list of options, the Internet may fail to reveal whether or not the attorneys you find are upstanding, reliable, and effective. It is still up to you to investigate the lawyers you find and determine whether they’re suitable.

If you aren’t comfortable with searching for an intellectual property lawyer online, it may be easier to use a lawyer referral service. These services are typically provided by telephone; you simply call in and share basic information about your case. Then, the representative who speaks with you will cross-match your information to a database of vetted, proven lawyers with a track record for success.

All legal referral services are licensed by the California Bar to ensure they provide accurate, reliable advice. If they suggest an attorney, you can feel confident the suggestion is truly in your best interest.

If you live in the downtown core, it may also be advantageous to keep your eyes open for advertisements in your local neighborhood. As Los Angeles is home to Hollywood, the country’s core neighborhood for creators, intellectual property attorneys are fairly common and easy to find using this method.

An attorney who can afford to advertise on television or set up billboards has most likely enjoyed at least some success – otherwise, he or she wouldn’t be able to afford to advertise in the first place. However, you should still try your best to confirm info.

Questions to Ask

Once you have a shortlist of law firms or intellectual property lawyers in Los Angeles, it’s time to schedule a few initial consultations. These short sessions generally take only about 30 minutes and grant you the opportunity to get to know the firm or the attorney and how they operate. In most cases, initial consultations are free.

Ultimately, you want to get a feel for how well they communicate, whether you feel respected, and whether they really seem to understand your case. However, you should also use the time to try and confirm the attorney’s track record, history, and true level of expertise, too.

Try asking:

• Where they went to school. A lawyer who graduated from Berkeley Law, for example, is far more reliable than someone who graduated from one of the nation’s worst law schools, such as Western Michigan University’s Cooley Law School. Don’t be afraid to look up the school afterward to learn more about it.
• How long they’ve been practicing law. Naturally, someone who has 20 years of experience in intellectual property law will be better equipped to handle a case than someone fresh out of college. Still, there are exceptions; younger attorneys may have more experience with the online world as they grew up with it and relied upon it more heavily during their years at school.
• Which area of law they specialize in. Don’t forget that intellectual property law is incredibly vast. Someone who specializes in corporate patents may or may not be the right person for your individual copyright claim on a photo posted to the online world, for example. Confirm where the attorney’s expertise lies before you agree to hire them.
• How much they charge for their services. Most lawyers won’t be able to give you an exact quote on fees without investigating your case. However, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask for a general estimate or an outline of how they generally charge (per diem, per case, or only upon a win). This can help you to identify whether you can afford to proceed in the first place.

Conclusion

It should only take you a few consultations to identify someone you can really work with and integrate with. If a lawyer refuses to answer questions, gives half-truths, suggests an illegal activity, or seems excessively pushy, consider it a red flag. While all lawyers operate to make money, a good attorney really cares about your results.