Intellectual Property takes many forms including patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. A patent is an invention, a trademark is a logo or artwork and a copyright is written material such as a song or novel. There are many IP lawyers out there who charge an arm and a leg (average IP lawyer hourly rate is $550/hour according to LexisNexis). That said, know this, you do NOT need a specialty IP lawyer unless you have a patent. For example, my practice regularly handles trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets along with the start-up process and our rate is less than HALF the average. Having your business lawyer handle your IP needs, patents being the exception, makes sense. He/she knows your business and your goals and, thus, can make effective suggestions to you when you finalize that cool logo you’ve been working on.
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