+1-800-654-7757
Mon-Fri, 7am – 7pm CT
Intellectual property law helps individuals and businesses protect their inventions and creations so they can profit from them. Scroll to learn more about intellectual property and how you can get affordable legal advice for your business.
If you want to profit from your original work and inventions, filing for intellectual property (IP) protection is critical, and working with an experienced lawyer to make sure your applications are correct is critical. Also, if a business owns valuable intellectual property, it can increase the value of the business itself. Deciding on the right type of intellectual property protection is also important. Learn about the three primary types of IP to the right.
A trademark protects brand names, taglines and logos used on goods. Logos are considered Design Marks while plain text names and taglines are considered Word Marks. You may need both types of trademarks. Service Marks are used to protect the names of intangible assets like ideas and songs.
For example, if you own a restaurant or other food business and you want to make sure nobody else in your area uses the same name and logo as you, a trademark would protect you.
Learn more here about getting legal assistance for trademark law.
A copyright protects authors, artists and creators. Copyrights cover creative works such as songs, novels, movies, computer software, poetry and architecture.
If you own a construction company and develop original building designs or you’re a real estate broker and you write a book about your sales processes, you need to register for a copyright to protect your valuable creations.
Learn more here about getting legal assistance for copyright law.
A patent is a form of intellectual property that protects inventions. The two most common types of patents are Utility Patents and Design Patents.
If you develop a new kind of machine or your software company develops new software, you may need a patent. Note that software can be both copyrighted (for the code) and patented (for the invention). Deciding on one vs the other has significant consequences. Sometimes you may need both.
Intellectual property lawyers operate in three main capacities.
The first step in securing the proper intellectual property protection is to identify all the types of protection you may need.
Once you know what sort of protection you need, lawyers can conduct searches for existing trademarks, copyrights or patents that might prevent you from registering your creation.
Intellectual property lawyers can help pursue people that violate intellectual property rights or defend their clients if they’ve been accused of violating someone else’s.
Most intellectual property lawyers charge between $150-$400 per hour. Some types of registration, such as filing for a basic trademark, may be offered for a flat fee between $1,000-$2,000. Depending on the complexity of an invention, lawyer fees for patents can easily cost $10,000 or more. To avoid wasting time and money going down the wrong path, speak with a lawyer before you start filing for protection.
“I was completely clueless at how to begin the trademarking process for my business and about to spend hundreds of dollars unnecessarily, however thanks to the attorney I spoke with he led me in the right direction and helped me save so much money and time.”
Ashley A., Arkansas Member
Finding solutions to your legal issues doesn’t have to be stressful, complicated or expensive. LegalShield puts the power of legal representation within reach of any individual, family, or business. We work hard to make it easy, simple, and affordable to get the legal help you need, when you need it.
Instead of paying a lawyer by the hour, you pay a small fee (starting at $24.95/month for personal and $49/month for small business) and have access to an independent lawyer that will provide a huge variety of legal services without a huge legal bill. Services like consultation with a lawyer, document review, drafting of debt collection letters and defense at civil trials are included as standard benefits. Using the plan just once can save you literally thousands of dollars.
Using the plan is as simple as signing up and contacting our team. Once you’re a member, customer support will connect you with an independent lawyer in your area who specializes in the specific legal issue with which you need help. Also, you can download our super-simple app to quickly access your legal benefits and member perks anytime.
You can use your plan as soon as your membership application is reviewed and your account is set up. The review process takes 12-24 hours (or less) from the moment you purchase your plan (on regular business days). Once accepted, you can be in contact with a lawyer and begin to use the plan benefits and member perks outlined in the membership agreement right away.
The average lawyer in the U.S. charges between $150-$400 per hour. If you use your membership for even just a few hours a year you could easily save over $1,000. If you have a bunch of small legal issues or one rather complicated issue, you can easily save multiple thousands of dollars over hiring a lawyer directly. Not to mention the stress you’ll save by having a lawyer on call instead of trying to handle legal issues yourself. Also, the lawyers in our network often help our members recover thousands of dollars of damages or avoid thousands of dollars in fees over what they would have experienced had they tried to resolve the legal issue themselves. Obviously every member and usage situation is different, but when used correctly, your membership can easily save significant amounts of money. Not to mention savings from our member perks.
Download the LegalShield App
