While dealing with matters of intellectual property, an IP paralegal is of very high importance. IP matters always involve a lot of paperwork, keeping tabs on deadlines and a lot more. An IP paralegal can act as a super assistant because it’s their job to make your life easier.
But how exactly can they help you? To what extent can they help you? It is important to know everything before hiring one that you know how much money to allocate for this. Let’s dig in and find out everything there is to know.
Also, Read: Intellectual Property (IP) Paralegal Facts
Who is an IP Paralegal?
An IP paralegal, as the name suggests, is a paralegal that specializes in matters of IP. Their job is to assist in IP matters such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, etc. They work with clients to help them protect their IP by assisting them in various processes. These processes include preparing trademark, patent or copyright applications, assisting intellectual property litigation, and conducting IP research.
To be an IP paralegal, one needs to not only have the legal knowledge but also some technical knowledge/experience as well. Preferably, one should have a scientific background in terms of education, like engineering, life sciences, or biotechnology. This makes the job of an IP paralegal harder than a regular paralegal.
Let’s understand their job responsibilities in greater detail further.
Role of an IP Paralegal
Now, you understand what an IP paralegal is. Let’s focus more on their role now. They are responsible for handling a lot of paperwork and maintaining the application docket. It is a challenging task which requires a lot of vigilance and awareness.
You can see that their responsibilities focus on 5 domains, which are:
IP Research
Before filing any form of intellectual property, it is vital to perform a background check. Whether it is trademark, patent or copyright. Every aspect of IP requires you to be absolutely firm and assertive about your creation so that you can get the right protection for it. If you find something similar to your creation then you may not get protection for your IP. Hence, researching before filing is very important.
An IP paralegal will conduct searches like:
They can also conduct other relevant important searches so that you have all the information before making a decision.
Document Preparation and Filing
This is an absolutely critical task and requires skill as well as experience. Any IP document needs to be elaborate, thorough, and completely unambiguous. You will need their assistance and expertise in the following processes:
- Patent Drafting and Patent Filing
- IDS Preparation and Filing
- Patent Proofreading
- Trademark Preparation and Filing
- Other necessary IP documents
Client and Court Interactions
Their job also requires them to act as an intermediary between the court and the client. Such processes require lengthy interactions, both via written documents and in-court hearings. An IP paralegal will help you to prepare documents such as Office action response.
They will try their best to help you secure protection for your IP.
Docketing and Tracking Deadlines
The amount of documents in any IP process is very large. Naturally, you will need to keep them in an orderly manner. An IP paralegal can efficiently docket your documents. They utilize docketing systems to help them manage all your documents easily.
Also, they will ensure that you don’t miss any deadlines and stay up-to-date about everything happening with your application.
Watching your IP Post Grant
Once you secure protection for your IP, you also need to guard it. If an infringement occurs, then it is your responsibility to enforce your rights. An IP paralegal service can provide you with Patent Watch and Trademark Watch among other watch services.
They will monitor your IP and sound the alarm as soon as an infringement occurs.
Need Paralegal Assistance? – Patent Paralegal Force
For any technology company or R&D, the main concern is to keep track of their leading competitors, dynamically. This can become tricky to do if you are alone or new to this. You should consider hiring a professional like Patent Paralegal Force.
We provide you with patent application monitoring. We alert you on a regular basis about the latest patents in your field of invention. Our fully-functional team of paralegal professionals uses state-of-the-art tools, which reliably provide a bouquet of services. These include docketing for multiple countries, proofreading, end-to-end IDS management, document procurement, data verification and even form preparation and filing. We are currently serving our clients from more than 45 countries. Client satisfaction is paramount to us. So, we offer the best paralegal services at a negligible cost.
Reach out to us to avail our Patent Paralegal Services.