The Kansas City Star reports that there’s a patent behind millions of products – from fishing lures to life-saving medical devices to the icing on a cake.
And behind many patented products (and services) is an attorney – preparing and filing applications, drafting legal documents to license the use of inventions, defending clients against charges of infringement or arguing that their clients’ rights have been infringed.
Patent attorneys and other intellectual property lawyers are in demand for patents, copyright, trademark and service mark issues.
“The economy has gone down but patent work is still going on,” said Chris Holman, patent attorney and associate professor of law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
In this recession, U.S. patent applications have held steady, while efforts to defend patents have increased, lawyers say.
Arthur K. Shaffer, patent attorney with the Intellectual Property Center in Kansas City, noted that a fear of being fired may motivate individuals to pursue inventions, write books and create other works of art as a way to supplement their income.
Patents can be powerful assets. Issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, they give inventors and/or companies legal rights to exclude others from benefiting from their unique product or service for a limited time. Holding a patent allows a company to corner a market and make money by using, selling, making or importing the invention.
So businesses invest in research and development to improve existing products and services and create new ones.
Photo by USPTO.