Getting High Paying Intellectual Property Jobs

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Legal professionals are at the heart of our society, are an essential component of commerce and industry, and as such command a degree of respect and kudos that many other professionals and employees aspire to. Given the very wide nature of legal positions and the work that they cover it is only natural that there are numerous specialists branches and fields of which intellectual property and patents is one crucial and highly specialized example.

Intellectual property deals with who owns the right to commercial ideas, processes and unique property and invention which the owner has asserted a proprietary right over and given the extremely valuable nature of such rights and the huge demand for advice in this arena, intellectual property lawyer jobs are commonly marketed but finding the appropriate candidate to fill the position is another matter. The precise definition of what constitutes an intellectual property right does not exist and the area is full of grey areas which serve to trap the uninitiated or the unwary. Intellectual property lawyers and their staff are highly qualified, highly experienced and highly skilled professionals and as such, they command extremely high salaries and the demand for them is very high.
Intellectual property lawyer jobs are split very broadly into providing advice and assistance in protecting proprietary intellectual property for the benefit of the owner, and usually the lawyer involved here is known as a patent agent. While patent agent jobs are well paid, they are not generally as financially lucrative as a litigation lawyer involved in intellectual property disputes. Intellectual property litigation is expensive, the risks and stakes can be extremely high and litigating on behalf of clients when intellectual property rights and patents are infringed or a dispute to that effect has been initiated demands unique talent and skills from practitioners.



Such litigation is amongst the most valuable and expensive in the US legal industry; you only need to consider the case of the inventor, Robert Kearns who patented the intermittent window wiper (you know that switch in your car which allows for variable wiper speeds of your blades) who took on Ford, the motor manufacturer who illegally used his invention without his permission or payment. After years of litigation a settlement was reached costing millions and this is only one very small example of what litigation associate jobs actually entail.

Intellectual property lawyers are employed by a wide variety of organizations and companies to handle patent rights and the issues which arise from them. You will find such practitioners handling negotiations and contractual matters for the sale of film and music rights, they are at the forefront of the development, commercial issues and regulatory matters affecting the Internet and World Wide Web and you will also find them working for manufacturers, software developers, commercial and non-profit entities as well as the government; in short, they are employed in all walks of life and by all manner of agencies and companies.

Just because this field is heavily orientated towards legal qualifications and experience, it is by no means a necessity that you are qualified as an attorney. Intellectual property issues require a range of other skills to assist in the unraveling and protection of intellectual property rights; it is common for intellectual property professionals to include experts and specialists who are not lawyers at all but have expert knowledge of the field over which intellectual property rights are being exerted. For instance, how can a Harvard educated lawyer who understand legal matters actually grasp how the legal framework will fit around and interact with a piece of poetry written by a deceased author? Knowledge of publishing is certainly an advantage but how good will that lawyer be at understanding and negotiating the commercial terms to maximize the monetary return to the deceased author’s estate and beneficiaries? In practice, this lawyer would need a publishing expert to help him with some of the practicalities of handling the issues involved and frequently intellectual property experts’ work in conjunction with professionals and others who are conversant with the underlying industry or media that is subject to intellectual property rights.

Intellectual property paralegal jobs form one of the highest paid tiers of the paralegal profession which typically tops out at around $32,000 per year but not for intellectual property paralegal jobs who are able to command higher salaries and benefits than is normal in that professional employment sector. When you compare intellectual property legal jobs in any position, they all compare very favorably with their own industry sector pay and benefit averages.

Intellectual property and patent rights is a fascinating area of the law and our everyday lives; no aspect of the economy, business world, consumer products, and media and communication channels is not subject to intellectual property rights issues. How owners are able to exert and protect their rights is crucial to protecting their R&D investment which may amount to billions to develop a product such as a new drug, all of which may be lost if intellectual property rights are not properly protected. Intellectual property professionals bear a heavy responsibility for their clients and for society at large and in this regard, they command a huge degree of kudos and financial reward for their efforts.



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