IPR
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This article has been written by Anindita Deb, a student from Symbiosis Law School, NOIDA. This article aims to elucidate the opportunities available in IPR outside India on a freelance basis. 

Introduction 

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) has come up as a field of law in which professionals are in high demand. IPRs cover cognitive creations and are granted by governments to IP creators for new and original ideas. Individuals can claim exclusive rights and financial gain from what they invent or create, thanks to intellectual property law which benefits both creators and the general public. It should come as no surprise that workdays for intellectual property professionals are never dull or monotonous, given their foundation in human ingenuity. 

What is freelancing

Freelancing is a unique manner of working in the employee vs. entrepreneur world. Consider it a midway point. Freelancers are self-employed individuals who work for a number of different companies. It sounds interesting. Isn’t that so? The client (or conventionally the employer) hires a freelancer for a specific project, service, or task.

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A freelancer works on multiple projects for different clients at the same time. A freelancer must manage their priorities, time, and workload, as well as file their taxes. That may seem like a lot to take on, but there’s nothing quite like being your own boss. A freelancer can work from anywhere in the world, but it usually involves working from home at certain times. In recent times, a lot of international opportunities have opened up for freelancers in the field of IPR.

Opportunities for IPR Freelancers 

There are a variety of jobs that can be taken up on a freelancing basis. Some of them have been described as follows:

Trademark registration

Merely registering a business name, a company name, or a domain name does not grant someone exclusive rights to use that name. Only a registered trademark provides them with the exclusive legal right to use, assign, license, and sell their IP around the world. Freelancers can take up an independent job of filing for trademark registrations across the world. You have discretion as to set a filing fee per registration. The average salary for a trademark layer carrying out trademark registration work internationally is around Rs. 4,38,000 per year.

Filing patent applications

Freelancers across the globe offer services for filing patent applications in different countries. Their job includes providing a variety of services so that the creator is able to file an appropriate patent application to claim their Intellectual Property Rights. The responsibilities of the person filing the patent application are as follows:

  • Drafting a provisional application
  • Filing a patent application for the invention
  • Patent search and advice 
  • Help the creator overcome patent rejection
  • Drafting a complete specification
  • Patent analysis

Again, you can set a fee ranging around Rs. 4000-5000 per application for the complete drafting and filing of patent applications. 

IP consultancy services

One of the most convenient jobs you can take up as an IPR freelancer is providing consultancy and advising services for IP related issues to people around the world. You can help them with their patent filing and trademark registration process, by guiding them and educating them on the due process to be filed to obtain patent rights for their invention. IP consultants may charge an hourly fee for providing consultancy services to inventors. The average salary for this job internationally goes up to Rs. 17,50,000 per year. 

Patent, trademark and copyright searcher

Freelancers provide services of researching available patents, trademarks and copyrights available for various inventions which are similar to the creator’s invention so that they can come up with a proper patent application to be filed. The responsibilities included under this job are as follows:

Search

  • Based on the product/concept/idea details the creators provide to them
  • Is the product or idea patented, trademarked or copyrighted?
  • Is it a utility patent or a design patent?
  • Are the terms trademarked?
  • Are the images the creator might want to use in their books or product listings copyright protected?
  • Search within jurisdictions of the creator’s choice

Comparison

  • Does the idea infringe upon an existing trademark, copyright or an existing patent?
  • An exhaustive analysis of to what extent the creator’s concept compares to existing patents
  • This includes recommendations as to what changes they should make to the proposed concept.

This job can pay you around Rs. 5,00,000 per year.

Media and televisions patent analysts

Media platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime hire legal professionals on a freelance basis to do a time-to-time analysis on their content and the patent and copyright searches that must be carried out before their content is published. This can serve as a good job opportunity in the era of digital entertainment. However, some of these jobs might require some previous work experience of about a year or two in order to hire someone for the job. You can earn Rs. 10,00,000 on average per year by being a media patent analyst. 

Websites that offer freelance jobs

There are a number of websites that offer freelance jobs. You can apply through them to get a freelance job. You can also offer freelance services on some of these websites by describing the services you will provide to your clients and interested people can contact you through the website. Some of the websites are:

Conclusion

A person wishing to build a career in IP law has a plethora of opportunities available to them. Freelance jobs allow you to be flexible and work according to your will. With the era of digitisation and globalisation, one can easily find international IPR freelance jobs online and apply in their area of interest. Even a low pay in a foreign country will translate into a good amount of earnings in Indian currency. So grab your opportunity and kickstart your freelance career in IPR. 

References

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