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Scope of a career in IP Law outside India

July 12, 2024

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This article on scope of a career in IP law outside India is written by Anvita Bhardwaj and Ashutosh, In this article, the authors have exhaustively dealt with various career opportunities that are available in IP law outside India. Not only that, but the authors have also discussed various other information related to IP law, such as what IP law is, types of intellectual properties, how to become an IP lawyer and many such related topics.

Table of Contents

Introduction

With the evolution in technology, the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) sector is on the rise. Not only big corporations but also small businesses are familiarising themselves with IPRs and are realising the plethora of untapped opportunities that the IPR sector holds. Result? The need for IP law experts has skyrocketed, making it one of the most exciting and dynamic career options that one may choose. An IPR lawyer is required to handle issues on things ranging from copyrights, patents, trademarks, and industrial design rights to duplication, infringement, trade secrets, and plant variety rights. A career in the IPR sector is a glamorous one. The article will further elaborate on some of the prominent opportunities available for IP law abroad after dealing with some basics very briefly.

What is IP law

In the recent past, few areas in law have gained great popularity due to the growing demand. Intellectual property laws is one such subject. Many tech companies like Apple, Google etc. have become a lot more vigilant about protecting their intellectual properties. In order to understand IP law, one must first know what intellectual property is.

Intellectual property includes the intangible property that is created by humans by using their mind and creativity, such properties include, artistic works, designs, symbols, literary work etc. Intellectual property rights bestow upon the creator of the intellectual property some exclusive rights including exclusive usage of such properties over a specific period of time. The intellectual property holders get the right to sell, license and protect their intellectual property from infringement by others. These rights basically help enable the property owner to earn recognition and financial benefit from their created property.

The various kinds of intellectual property include copyright law, trademark law, patent law and trade secrets. All of these intellectual properties have different rules and bestow different kinds of rights on the owners.

Types of intellectual property

As mentioned above, there are various kinds of intellectual properties whose creators get protection through the various IPR laws. These intellectual properties include:

Patent

Patents are usually granted for inventions and the patent rights grant several exclusive rights to the inventor such as legal entitlement over the invention and the exclusive right to decide whether the patent can be used by others or not and the method by which it can be used. The invention must be patentable in order to get the patent which means that it must have novelty and utility. Thus, the patent owner is given the right to protect its invention from production, usage, distribution, importation etc, by any third party. In return for these rights the patent holder has the obligation to disclose the invention to the public so that the public can benefit from it.

A patent is only provided for a fixed period of time. This is done so that the ordinary public gets to use the patented invention free of cost and the inventor also gets to enjoy its invention for a certain period of time. The time period for patent rights is different under different IP domestic laws. For example, countries like the US, India, European countries, and China have granted patents for a period of 20 years.

There are several kinds of patents, such as design patents, plant patents, utility patents, etc.

Copyright

Copyright protection is granted to the creator of original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work. Copyright may be provided over a number of works such as books, blogs, paintings, movies, compositions, computer programs, photographs etc. The purpose of copyright law is to prevent third parties from copying and benefiting from using the work of genuine creators.

An important thing to note here is that, in order to get copyright protection over any work it has to be the original work of the writer and not copied or replicated from anywhere else. Also, copyright can only be given for creative expressions and not ideas. This means any methods or concepts cannot be copyrighted. Another significant point under copyright is that copyright cannot be given over expressions that are a part of knowledge in the public domain. Thus, a book on yogic expressions cannot be given copyright as it is not an original idea and is already known to the public. A mere compilation of such public knowledge cannot be given copyright but the expression of such compilation may get copyright protection.

While registration of copyright is not essential and an expression is said to have copyright as soon as it is created provided it fulfils all the requirements of valid copyright, it is always advised especially to professional people to get their work registered. This helps in building a strong case in matters of copyright infringement.

Just like patents, copyrights are also provided for a specific period of time and are not granted for an indefinite period. The copyright protection period is different under different domestic laws, for example in India the time period is the lifetime of the author plus 60 years from the year following his death. And the time period in the US is the lifetime of the author plus 70 years following death and for corporations, this period is 95 years after the date of publication or 120 years whichever expires first.

Trademark

Trademark can be defined as a sign which distinguishes the goods and services of an enterprise from other enterprises. The trademark sign can consist of words or combinations of words, letters, numerals, drawings, symbols, 3-D figures, colour shades or combinations of colours etc. Thus the signs of various companies through which you recognise it is its trademark, for example the yellow M sign of McDonald’s over a red background or the tick of Nike, the half-cut apple of Apple Co. All these are trademarks owned by the companies. These logos are something by which the public is able to recognise the company and no other enterprise has the right to use the registered trademark of another company to gain financial benefit from the recognition of the registered trademark company.

A registered trademark helps in:

Recognising the source of the goods and services.
Providing legal protection to the registered trademark’s brand.
Guards against fraud from other entities.

Unlike copyright and patent, trademarks are not given for a specific period of time as there is no such requirement of getting the registered trademark, be it logo, slogan etc., in public domain. Thus, trademarks are provided protection for as long as the mark is commercially in use, however it needs to be renewed from time to time based on the domestic trademark laws of the country.

Trademarks are only protected in the country in which it is registered. Thus, in order to have maximum protection worldwide for the trademark, an entity can register it with the WIPO.

Trade secret

As the name suggests, a trade secret usually consists of a secret formula, recipe, data compilation etc. of which only the higher ups of a corporation have the knowledge. These trade secrets are unique to the company and carefully curated by the owners and it gives the businesses an advantage over the others. For example, the spices used in KFC include a unique combination of 11 or 12 spices which no other company is aware of and it is their trade secret. Another example is let’s say that the recipe of a popular soft drink in America, Dr. Pepper is also a trade secret. However, not every entity’s secret can be regarded as a trade secret. It must have the following requisites in order to be a trade secret:

The secret must provide some commercial value to the business and should not just be confidential
The secret must be known only by a small and important group of members of the company
The entity must have undertaken adequate measures to protect the trade secret.

There is no distinct legislation for protection of trade secrets in India and entities usually form a Non-Disclosure Agreement between themselves for the protection of their trade secrets. Trade secrets can be protected by filing cases of breach of trust, breach of contract, commercial espionage or industry espionage, under the domestic laws of the various countries.

Industrial design

Industrial design includes the visual aspect or the aesthetics of any product that could not be protected under patent. It can include the 3-D features of a product like shape or the 2-D gestures also like patterns, combination of colours or alignment of lines. In order to get protection as an industrial design, the design must be nonfunctional and only for visual or aesthetic purposes.

Examples- Contour design of Coca Cola bottle.

Geographical indication

Geographical indications are given to various products to indicate the place of origin of the product. The purpose of providing GI tags is to protect the rights of the indigenous people who have either created the product by the skill and knowledge unique only to them or any product that is exclusively found in certain areas due to the natural conditions of the place.

For example, basmati rice has been given a GI tag, Jardalu Mangoes of Bhagalpur, Lucknow Chikankari etc are all products that have been given GI Tags.

How to become an IP lawyer in India

The demand for IP lawyers has increased over the years because of the emergence of research and innovation in the market. Most companies have started hiring IP lawyers these days. In order to become a successful IP lawyer one must follow a few steps. These are:

Take law school entrance test

If you are someone in your school days and you have developed an interest in becoming an IP lawyer, you must first start with your law school to get an LLB degree. In order to get an LLB degree you must first clear the CLAT exam if you are aiming to get into any National Law Universities or any top-ranked private University. Once you are done with your 12th boards examination, you can give various tests for entering into law school, the most popular one being CLAT, other popular tests include AILET and LSAT. Apart from these you can also look into which private colleges offer admission based on which tests.

You can start your preparation for these entrance tests from your school days only. These exams are highly competitive in nature and thus, your preparation should be up to the mark. You can even take coaching classes for preparation of these exams. And if you are someone who is doing a bachelor’s from any other college and want to pursue law in future, you shall also apply for these entrance tests but for 3 years law degree.

Complete law school

Once you have entered into the law school of your choice, you must attend college and complete your degree. Law school can be of 3 years or 5 years based on whether the candidate has already completed a bachelor’s or not. Since you have already made up your mind that you have to become an IP attorney, you must take up activities in your law school accordingly. For example, you should take internships in boutique IP law firms or under independent IP lawyers or in the IP team of any big law firm; you can also do moot courts related to IP issues; if you get a choice of subjects between IP and any other, you must take IP subjects to a strong base.

Pass the bar exam

You do not become an advocate only after completing law school, you only become one after passing the All India Bar Examination which is conducted by the Bar Council of India. It is rather a simple test which is conducted to check the theoretical and practical knowledge of the candidates and to check whether they are ready to deal with real world situations or not. You can easily pass this exam if you have studied the subjects properly in your law school.

Gain experience in IP field

The real path of becoming an IP lawyer starts from here. Up until the last step, all your classmates will follow the same steps, but the course of action will change from here as per the goals.

In order to become a successful IP lawyer, it is very important that you start your law career from an IP firm or as an IP expert in-house counsel for any company as they have to deal with Intellectual properties on a daily basis. It is not necessary that you get your first job in a tier 1 firm so you can start off your career in any boutique IP firm also. These firms provide extensive experience and they also pay well for a starting salary. Here is a list of all the tier 1 IP law firms and boutique law firms in India.

You can start your career as an in-house counsel also because their salaries are quite handsome for newcomers and it is always advised to gain experience from any boutique firm or any other firm first in order to get a higher salary.

LIST OF TOP IP LAW FIRMS IN INDIA

Anand and Anand

Remfry and Sagar

Saikrishna & Associates

Khaitan & Co LLP

AZB & Partners

R.K. Dewan & Co.

Chadha & Chadha IP

Inttl Advocare

Spice Route Legal

Solomon & Co. Advocates & Solicitors

K & S Partners

Earn specialisation

After completing law school, many law professionals opt to pursue higher studies to specialise in the field of their choice. Although it is not necessary to get this specialisation, one may opt to do so if they have interest in higher studies. You can even choose a more specific specialisation like Trademark, Patent, Design etc.

The path to become an IP lawyer starts in the initial days of law school only. It is from that time that one must start preparing for one’s career.

What does an IP lawyer do

IP lawyers play many critical roles in order to protect the intellectual property of their clients. They have to deal with cases related to intellectual property such as inventions, logos, artistic works etc. They not only protect the intellectual properties of their client from infringement but also register the properties with the respective registrar and they also act as legal advisors to the companies for their intellectual properties. Some of the most important roles of IP lawyers include:

Registration of intellectual property- A company creates many intellectual properties on a daily basis, such as its logos, any new slogan, an invention etc. It is the first and foremost duty of an IP lawyer to get these properties registered as soon as possible before there is any infringement of such property. The lawyers must also prepare all the necessary documents that are required for filing of any patent, trademark or any other intellectual property.
Representation– The other most important role of an IP lawyer is that he or she must represent their clients in all IP infringement related matters in the court. They not only act as the representatives of their clients but also provide them legal advice and ensure that all the IP related interests of their clients are protected.
Legal research– The IP lawyers have to be always updated with any new judgements, especially the ones in which new principles are established by the court so that they can use it for their client’s case in the future or be aware of any such case that can be used against them. This is why IP lawyers must conduct thorough and regular research and analysis of their cases.
Legal advisory– As mentioned above, apart from representing their clients in courts and registration of Intellectual Properties, the counsels also help their clients with any sort of advice related to the intellectual properties since they have much better understanding of intellectual property laws, they can help the companies or their clients to build policies for the company that are in their interest and at the same time not infringing IP rights any other entity or individuals.
Preservation of trade secrets– An enterprise that deals with some products or services, usually has many trade secrets that benefit their business. These trade secrets are very crucial to any company and must be protected at all costs so that the business is able to stay ahead in the competition. But, unlike other intellectual properties, trade secrets are not protected by any trade secret specific statute, thus lawyers have to use other means such as contract agreements, breach of trust etc. in order to protect the trade secrets of the company. Thus the IP lawyers must be well versed with other laws also to protect trade secrets of the company.
Drafting contracts and agreements– IP lawyers might also need to contract agreements such as licensing agreements for their clients and some other party to whom the IP is licensed.

Some other roles of IP lawyers might include:

Conducting interviews of individuals for any proceeding in the court.
Conducting negotiation between parties
Reviewing important documents related to Intellectual properties of the client such as licensing agreements.

Scope of IP law abroad

Intellectual property law is that area of law that is rapidly expanding and there has been a lot of career opportunities and scope that are arising from this field. There are various career opportunities under IP law outside India for all the people from legal backgrounds. People all around the World have started to understand the importance of their intellectual properties and because of that they need legal professionals who are skilled in IP law. In this article, we will now be reading about all those career opportunities and scope under IP law outside India. We will also be reading about the skills that you need to grab those jobs and how you can do it.

Working in an IP law firm

There are various law firms abroad that hire IP lawyers and attorneys to deal with the matters of intellectual properties. There are multiple roles offered by the law firms, let us have a look at some of those roles.

Patent and trademark attorney

The job of a patent and trademark attorney revolves around IP management and protection. They are required to draft and submit applications seeking patents and trademarks for their clients, and assist in matters related to IP disputes such as copyright infringement. They have an advisory or representative role towards their clients. Work such as evaluating requests, drafting, filing, handling applications and the registration process comes under their portfolio. They earn an average of $145,000 per year.

Skills required to become a patent attorney

There are few skills that every patent attorney must master in order to have a successful career.

Analytical skills– Patent attorneys have a responsibility to analyse huge amounts of information and reach a balanced and logical conclusion. Thus it is extremely important for a patent attorney to have a clear thinking and rigorous analysis.
Attention to detail– Accuracy is extremely important for all the patent attorneys because patent attorneys use attention to detail in order to check all the patent applications for errors and to make sure that they include all the important information.
Lateral thinking– Patent attorneys are required to remain creative in their thinking, just like the inventor they work for. They need to think what are the alternative methods through which they can protect the IP of their client and what will the other competitors do. They must be prepared to deal with a situation with various other angles.

How to become a patent practitioner

In order to become a patent attorney you don’t need to be a registered barrister or solicitor nor is it necessary for you to have a law degree. However, you must have a minimum 2:2 degree either in the field of technology, science, engineering or mathematics. It is at the discretion of the course providers and the Patent examination Board to check and determine any kind of exemption from the course requirement.

Educational requirements:

There are 2 stages under this degree.

Foundation stage- Under this stage you are required to complete any of the IP regulation board (IPReg) certified course of trademark. Such as the postgraduate IP certificate course of Bournemouth University, Postgraduate IP certificate course from Queen Mary, etc. Other than the above step you can also complete certificate examinations of IPReg released by the patent examination board. If you have a law degree or you have completed the Bar Final examination then in such cases you will be eligible for exemptions from part of the examination process. The exemptions are given by the University who provides the accredited course.
Final stage- Under the final stage of becoming a patent attorney you need to finish the final diploma exams that are provided by the patent examination board. Under this stage there are four examinations, and these exams are designed to check whether a candidate is fit for practising or not, including the ability to check the validity of a patent, how well do you know how to make applications of patent and most importantly how much knowledge you have about IP law.

Once you have successfully completed all these things, you can apply to become a registered patent attorney. Click here to know about how you can apply for registration.

Skills required to become a trademark attorney

These are the skills that you need to become a trademark attorney.

Protect, manage and enforce portfolios of intellectual property rights, such as design, copyright and trademark.
Providing advice on all the legal aspects of markets new products and services and how to introduce those products in the market and how to develop the brand enlargement.
Negotiate on behalf of the company on all the trademark disputes and take actions on all kinds of trademark infringements and passing off.
Monitor all the already existing and proposed trademarks.
Build working and good relationships with all the managers of relevant brands and customers of departments.

How to become a trademark attorney

Same as a patent practitioner, the trademark attorney also does not need to be a lawyer or solicitor nor is required to have a law degree. You just need a minimum 2:2 degree in any of the subjects or you should have a number of years work experience in any of the legal professions, such as a paralegal.

Educational requirements

Educational requirements of becoming a trademark attorney are also similar to that of a patent attorney. Here, you need to complete two trademark courses.

A foundation certificate course of trademark that is accredited by the IPReg, and only three universities offer these courses. Those universities are:

University of Bournemouth
University of Brunel in London
Queen Mary University of London

Professional certificate course in trademark practise which is accredited by IPReg, this course is only offered by the Nottingham Trent University. if you have a law degree or you have completed the Bar Final examination, then in such cases you will be eligible for exemptions from part of the examination process. The exemptions are given by the University who provides the accredited course

Trademark Job opportunities available outside India.

These are the trademark job offers that are posted on the website of The Chartered Institute of Trademark Attorneys.

Click here, to check out these job offers at CITMA website.

IP solicitor

Another job or post that IP law firms provide is of an IP Solicitor. To become a Solicitor, you need a minimum of 3-5 years Post Qualification Experience (PQE). A solicitor’s job entails preparing legal documentation, representing and/or defending a client’s legal interests. In this case, the Solicitor needs to be a qualified legal practitioner whose expertise is in IP law. With a five years’ PQE a Trade Mark Solicitor can earn up to £85,000 in the UK.

How to become an IP solicitor

The steps to become an IP solicitor may vary from nation to nation. Each nation has its own requirements and examinations for this. Here we have taken the example of the United Kingdom and we will discuss the steps that are necessary for becoming an IP solicitor in England.

The first thing that you need to have in order to get a law degree. If you are someone who is not from England then in such a case you need to do a course for Graduate Diploma in Law.
Another thing that you need to do is to take up the Legal Practise Course in which you will get to learn about the workings of a solicitor.
After you are done with your Legal Practise Course, you need to sign a training contract with an IP law firm. Make sure that you get apprenticeship training with a law firm that has a good IP practice.
While you are training under a law firm you are also required to clear a professional skills course, it is the last step of your education.
In order to become a successful IP lawyer abroad it is very necessary to earn some additional qualifications. There are two institutes that offer courses and job offers that will help you out in your career. Those institutes are CITMA and CIPA.

What does an IP solicitor do

These are some of the most important duties of an IP solicitor

Giving advice to their clients on the matters of IP disputes.
Negotiating on behalf of their clients
Ensuring that the legal rights and obligations of their client is protected
Drafting agreements of licensing and contracts
Preparing various legal documents such as patent applications and trademarks

Skills required to become a IP solicitor

These are some of the most important skills that an IP solicitor needs to have.

Research skills– One of the most crucial skills for an IP lawyer is to have amazing research skills, and this is because the field of IP law is constantly evolving and a lot of research is needed in this field.
Communication skills– It is very important for IP solicitors to have strong communication skills, both verbal as well as non-verbal. IP solicitors are required to use their communication skills while dealing with their clients and other lawyers.
Problem solving skills– The ability to solve disputes is a very crucial skill for IP solicitors. They are those professionals who are responsible for resolving disputes between individuals, businesses and various other entities. They are also responsible for making strategies that will help prevent theft and unauthorised use of intellectual property.

Setting up your own law firm

Working in an IPR law firm is very different from owning one. Nothing beats being your own boss. You can generate good revenue from your own practice. You can expand your practice however you want. IP creates and supports high-paying jobs. If you open your own IPR firm, you will be helping people gain employment. It is important for you to identify your niche before you go about running your own law firm. Find out which is the most interesting and appealing area of interest for you within intellectual property rights. Interest is not the only thing that you need to consider, introspect and acknowledge your professional strengths and weaknesses. Usually, up-and-coming law practices focus on copyright or trademark prosecution as they ascertain a set standard of filings. Moreover, unlike patent prosecution, these two do not require additional certification and qualifications. It is very important to identify your area as only then you will be able to focus your limited resources towards building an expertise loyal client base. An average small law firm revenue potential is $210,000.

How to set up an IP law firm in abroad

There are a few steps that you must keep in mind while setting up a law firm outside India or abroad.

While setting up a law firm anywhere in the world, the first thing that you must keep in your mind is that you should be a qualified attorney with a deep understanding of IP law. You can’t escape this part, because your clients will have utmost trust on you and keeping up with their trust will help you get more clients.
The next thing that you need to do is to get registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority and get all the necessary paperwork done.
Next big step that you have to take is to select your niche area, decide whether you want to focus on copyright, trademarks or patents. Or, you already have a big team and you want to deal with all the aspects of IP law.
To make your firm look big and active, make sure that you connect with organisations such as CIPA and CITMA.
Make sure that you expand your firm’s business slowly and gradually with time, and hire employees according to the needs of the company.
Lastly, make connections so that you can get more cases for your firm.

Benefits of setting up a law firm

These are some of the benefits that you will enjoy if you set up your own firm.

Full control and freedom– The biggest benefit of starting your own law firm is that you get to make your own decisions. There’s no one above you who will interfere in between you and your decisions. You enjoy freedom and flexibility when you start your own firm. Though this does not mean that you will have to work less, in fact you will be working even harder to make your firm reach great heights.
Enough knowledge and experience– When you are employed you get to work under a particular field that is decided by your seniors, but when you start your own firm you get to look at all the cases that your firm deals with. If you have just started and your organisation is small then you get to do a lot of duties and it eventually helps you in becoming a jack of all trades,
Reputation in the market– Becoming an owner or having a successful law firm is a very big deal. People start looking at you as an inspiration and they want to become like you, because you are someone who single handedly built his own empire through all the struggles and challenges. Thus, starting a legal firm on your own and making it successful gets you a lot of reputation and respect from other lawyers.

Litigation

Litigation is an ever-green field of law. Common types of IP Litigation are:

Patent Litigation;
Copyright Litigation;
Trademark Litigation;
Trade Secret Litigation.

If you want to practise IP litigation in the USA, click here to learn more. The average pay for Litigation Associates is $123,897.

Now let’s discuss in detail about all these different kinds of litigation.

Patent litigation

It is a multifaceted process of law that is related to the protection and enforcement of patent rights. It happens when one of the parties or the plaintiff files a lawsuit against the other party or defendant. The plaintiff accuses the defendant of using the patented invention of the plaintiff without his authorisation. This infringement can be done in several forms such as selling, using or making, or importing the product of the plaintiff without his knowledge. Patent infringement can cause extreme financial loss, calculated on the basis of loss of profits of reasonable royalties of the inventor.

How to become a patent litigator

There are three different ways through which you can become a patent litigator, you can become a patent litigator either through any university course, or working towards the role or direct application.

University– In order to become a patent litigator it is required that you must have a postgraduate degree qualification in any of the technical subject, such as, mathematics, science, computing, engineering, etc. once you are done with your course, you need to apply in any patent office to work as a trainee and prepare for your professional exam while you are working there. It generally takes around 2 years to qualify. Once you finish your postgraduate degree in law or in IP law you will be considered as a patent attorney.
Entry requirements– You are required to have 2 to 3A levels of degree requirements or a degree in any relevant subject for the postgraduate study.
Work– You can start your career as a patent attorney by finding jobs as a trainee patent attorney or technical assistant in a firm or under a senior attorney, or in the patent department of any organisation.
Direct application– You can get patent attorney jobs without even having an engineering or scientific degree if you possess a high level of experience in the technical field. This is also applicable if you are a qualified attorney with experience of working with IPR. you are still required to prepare for your professional exams.
You need to register yourself with Intellectual Property Regulation Board

Copyright litigation

Copyright litigation is a kind of litigation that is done when there is any kind of copyright infringement upon one or more than one of the exclusive rights of the owner of a copyrighted product. Copyright rights include rights to reproduce the work in copies, to display or perform the work publicly, create derivative products, etc. the owners of a copyright product also have the exclusive right to authorise other persons to use those rights.

How to develop a practice in copyright litigation

Here are a few pieces of advice that you must keep in your mind while establishing a practice in copyright litigation.

Understand the law and its usage

It is not necessary that every law is similar, so make sure that you research the need for the law and the legal stance on the matters of copyright in various countries before selecting a field. It is possible that you may have to deal with a lot of legal problems, not just the copyright law, so prepare yourself accordingly. Ensure to have a variety of skills so that you don’t fall behind.

Necessary qualification

Once you make up your mind that you want to become a copyright expert, look for the things that will offer you benefits over the competition. This is because having just a normal LLB degree wont make you stand out from the competition, you need some necessary qualifications in the field of copyrights, to become an expert in that field. You must opt for a certificate degree, diploma or even LL.M. on copyright.

Marketing

In order to develop successful practice in any of the fields, you must market yourself ethically. Make sure that you attend conferences, get clients through reference and build a strong presence in the social media platforms.

Litigation skills

Attorneys who deal with the matters of copyright are also known as litigators. It is required for every copyright lawyer to remain knowledgeable in all the aspects of litigation, such as drafting documents, preparing discoveries. They must remain prepared to defend their clients who are facing accusations of both civil and criminal violations.

Knowledge of emerging technologies

Attorneys who specialise in the area of copyright law must know everything about the new technology. Currently it has become a lot easier to record a work that is related to copyright, all because of modern technology. Thus, copyright infringement has also become easier than ever. Copyright attorneys are now making new ways for detecting and enforcing breaches of copyright.

Trademark litigation

Trademark litigation occurs when one of the organisation or company tries to steal or use a similar trademark of any other company. This is usually done to steal the reputation of another company and fraudulently promote their own products under any other popular registered trademark.

How to develop a practice in trademark litigation

Here are some things that you must keep in mind to develop a practice in trademark litigation.

Understand your stuffs

The path of trademark law is always evolving and there are a lot of things that you must know. Make sure to get solid experience in the field of IP laws, joining any IP law firm that majorly has trademark cases. Learn trademark prosecution to get a better understanding of trademarks.

Specialisation

Make sure to select a specialisation, you need to decide in which area you need to specialise and what kind of cases you want to handle, whether you want to handle technology companies or fashion companies or any other company of your choice. Make sure that you select your niche.

Networking

Networking is extremely crucial, make sure that you attend seminars, conferences and other public meetings. Connect with other trademark lawyers who are highly skilled and reputed. Connect with the in-house counsels of different companies that handle a lot of trademark disputes.

Trade secret litigation

Trade secret consists of two aspects:

Trade secrets are said to be violated when any confidential information of an organisation is leaked or obtained through misappropriation. Misappropriation is said to be done when someone uses, obtains or discloses the trade secret of a company without getting any permission from the company.
If there is any kind of violation of a non disclosure agreement by any of the parties in the contract causing a breach to the agreement.

How to develop a successful practice in trade secret litigation

There are few things that you must keep in your mind to estanding a successful practice in trade secret litigation.

Pick up a specific industry

In order to establish a successful practice in trade secret litigation it is extremely necessary to pick up a specific industry. It can be any industry such as, pharma, manufacturing or technology. Make sure that you learn how the industry functions and what are their pain points.

Connections

Networking is extremely crucial, make sure that you attend seminars, conferences and other public meetings. Connect with other trade secret lawyers who are highly skilled and reputed. Connect with the in-house counsels of different companies that handle a lot of trade secret litigation disputes.

Paralegal

Paralegals assist attorneys with the legal representation of the firm’s clients. In a firm specialising in IP law, a paralegal who is an expert in the same field of law would be required. The work would entail (but not be limited to) conducting trademark & prior art searches, preparing applications, drafting appeals, listing important evidence, preparing first drafts of licensing agreements, production agreements, royalty-sharing agreements, IP agreements, drafting a patent landscape report, drafting and filing a pre-publication objection to a trademark registration application etc. You can earn a salary ranging from $13-$40 per day online on sites like Upwork and Fiverr, depending on your skill and expertise. A paralegal in the USA can earn $51,166 annually.

Scope of a paralegal outside India

The number of paralegals are increasing very rapidly in the United Kingdom, this is because the law companies in England have started to realise that for all kinds of work it is not required to hire a personally qualified person, this same the money and also keeps the lawyers happy.

The applicants will be responsible for assisting the employees of top-tier companies and they will be involved in modifying, filing and preparing patent applications in the European Union and the United Kingdom. They will also have to liaise with the senior fee earners and help them in all the critical situations.

IP paralegals are also often employed in law firms with a flourishing IP practice. The work of paralegals employed in those law firms is to assist the seniors with their daily work in the office and help in the management of client portfolio, there are also some major responsibilities that paralegals need to perform in a law firm, such as, preparing and sending the emails and reports of clients, checking the surveillance services and conducting exploratory searches aros various platforms, etc.

Benefits of working as a paralegal outside India

These are some of the benefits that paralegals enjoy when employed outside India.

Payment– There is no debate about payment of paralegals being high in other countries such as the UK and US, paralegals who are employed in countries like England and America make a serious amount of money, and this is because unlike India there is a shortage of experienced lawyers and paralegals, which makes their demand more costly.
More exposure– Working abroad in another country can help you get extra exposure, this is because you get exposed to another culture as well as another law. You will be able to expand your experience and learning.
Life upgradation– When you work in any law firm outside India, you get a chance to upgrade your life. You will be introduced to whole new concepts and you will shift from your traditional thinking to a new modern approach of living life.

Freelancing

You can sit in the comfort of your home and earn money by making profiles on sites such as Upwork and Fiverr. Simply list your academic qualifications, certifications and experience here and you can opt for freelance work such as drafting an IP contract/agreement, proofreading, content writing, patent assistance etc., just click here to see the various freelancing opportunities. The pay will differ on the basis of work assigned and opted for.

All about freelancing abroad

There are many freelancers who want to work internationally while sitting in their own homes. However, if you keep working from the same place you will eventually become bored and you will try to move to some other location and work from there.

If you have international clients or you have enough knowledge and experience of working with international clients, then in such a case you are just one decision away from travelling to another location and do your freelancing work from the location you have always dreamt of. If you are someone who likes travelling, then it can become a blessing for you.

It is not required for international freelancers to stay in their home countries, they can travel to any country of their choice and do their work from there. So if you have a country about which you have always dreamt of then you may consider going there for freelance work.

Advantages of becoming an international freelancer

It is a very known fact that all freelancers enjoy flexible work timings. There are various freelancers who work in other countries in order to learn a new culture and various other reasons. There are some significant benefits of working internationally as a freelancer. Let us have a look at some of the most crucial ones.

Knowing new culture– If you are an international freelancer then you will get an opportunity to witness the culture of your client. You will get to know about the habits, thinking and lifestyles of those people which can be a very enriching experience.
New experiences– When you go to a different country to pursue freelancing you get to feel new experiences, one of the best things would be getting to learn a new language. This is because every country has its own language and in order to work there you will also need to learn their language.
Expansion business– If you are working for an international client, or if you have moved to a different nation for freelancing purposes then in such case you will get to expand your business to that country as well and you will be internationally recognisable.

How to start international freelancing

The first thing that you must do if you are planning to become an international freelancer is to get your passport ready and research about the visa and other requirements of the other country in which you are planning to move.

Fortunately, there are several countries that provide special visas to help freelancers who opt for international freelancing. They understand the needs of a freelancer and their desire to work from another country. There are fifty countries all around the World that give a specific type of work visa, that is known as Digital Nomad Visa. This visa helps the freelancers to travel and work in their selected destination. Freelancers can apply for this visa before travelling to their location and with the help of it they can work in that destination for a period of one year.

If you get a digital nomad visa, you will become eligible to stay in any nation without being an employee of any organisation in that country. Currently it has become extremely easy to move abroad and work with the invention of digital nomad visas, and this is one of the main reasons why you can allow yourself the leverage of moving to another country and becoming an international freelancer.

Few important things related to international freelancing

There are few things which every freelancer must know about before starting his/her international freelancer career.

Move only when you have enough experience– Moving to another country for work is not an easy task, it sounds very pleasing but in reality it is full of challenges. If you are planning to start international freelancing then make sure that you have plenty of experience and you have already worked for multiple international clients. If you don’t have enough experience then you will face difficulties in finding new clients.
Great competition– Male sure that you do freelancing in any country which has higher standards of living as compared to the country you live in. There will be a lot of competition and freelancing is very popular abroad, thus there will be a lot of freelancers offering services below your payment level, this makes sure that you deliver quality services.
Different time zones– Yes, freelancing provides flexible work timing, but it does not work when you are working in a different time zone. So, if you desire to sleep by midnight, it might not possibly work when you become an international freelancer.
Learn local language– In order to flourish your business it is very crucial for an international freelancer to learn the language of that particular country. If you are able to communicate with your client in their local language then they will feel more comfortable while talking to you and this will eventually help you in attracting clients.

Teaching

An ideal candidate to be an IP professor needs to have expertise in Patent, Trademark or Copyright law, or have experience in all three fields. There are both lateral-level and entry-level jobs available. The former requires a superior publication record while the latter needs the candidate to showcase a commitment to scholarship. The candidate must have a Juris Doctorate (JD) to qualify for the position.

An example of the roles and responsibilities for the work profile of an Assistant Professor include “Teaching, scholarly research and writing, and related activities (such as presenting papers at conferences). As appropriate to the candidate’s interest and the school’s needs, duties may also include administrative roles in a research centre, as well as ordinary committee service.” The average pay scale in the USA for this job is $175,158 while the same in the UK is £75,000.

Benefits of being an IP law teacher outside India

These are some of the benefits that teachers get when working outside India.

Fundings for research– Teachers all around the World are involved in doing extensive research. Other than teaching they also have their own interests in which they write a research paper, article or they research on a particular hypothesis to understand more about it. Various countries such as Germany, England and America provide huge funding to the teachers and professors in order to conduct research.
Advanced resources– India though it has a lot of universities and colleges, it lacks technological advancement when compared to any other foreign country like America. Whereas on the other hand universities abroad are equipped with high end technological devices that help the teachers and professors in teaching efficiently.
Career growth– Moving outside India as an international teacher can grow your career to an extreme level. If you go to another country and teach there for a few years and then come back to India you will be able to get a lot of attention and thus you will be recognised as an international teacher.

Content writing

You can also apply to be a Technical Writer in any IP law firm/company. The work profile of a full-time Technical Writer differs from what is normal content writing. The roles and responsibilities (according to a job post in Harrisonburg) are as follows:

“Work both independently and collaboratively with Trainers and other stakeholders to develop user documentation and training that ensures users understand changes to patent processing software they rely on for their daily work.
Maintain manuals, policy documents, training materials and similar content so that it consistently reflect current features, policies, and best practices.
Write standardised material for reports, manuals, briefs, proposals, instruction books, catalogues, and related technical and administrative publications concerned with work methods and procedures.
Acquire an understanding of the work performed by various end-users to understand how software functions to support specific work activities and overall business needs.
Engage multiple stakeholders, and recognise different perspectives. Prepare written descriptions and visualisations of requested software features
Represent users in discussing desired software functionality with developers, correct assumptions of developers and users
Test software prototypes for expected functionality; provide clear written and verbal descriptions of observed issues to developers
Create user guides and related documentation to support new software releases
Prepare and maintain policy and process documents to support other areas of the organisation
Conduct training and work with Training staff to ensure effective curricula.”

The average pay scale for the same is $68,555 in the USA, while in the UK it is £43,465.

How to get content writing jobs outside India

There are a lot of content writing opportunities available outside India, you can look up all the freelancing websites such as Fiverr, Upwork, Freelancer, etc, for freelance content writing job opportunities outside India. Here we have mentioned a few things that you must do in order to get more international clients and work.

Develop a top notch portfolio- Having a top notch portfolio is one the most important things if you want to develop a successful content writing career outside India. If you don’t have enough clients for your portfolio then you can do some personal work or you can work for imaginary companies. Make sure that you do clean and quality work.
Specialise in SEO– Having appropriate SEO skills can help you in reaching great heights in the field of content writing. Learn about keywords, how to use them and how to structure your content according to SEO. Use tools like SEMrush and polish your SEO skills.
Networking– It is also one of the most important things that you need to learn. Make sure that you join content writing groups in LinkedIn and Facebook and connect with individuals who are proficient in content writing.

Skills required to get an international content writing job

Having these skills are extremely important for a content writer who wishes to work outside India.

Technological skills– The field of content writing is also evolving very rapidly, and there are a lot of technological advancements in this field. Various tools have been developed that help the content writers in improving the quality of their work. International clients always require their works to be done in a precise and efficient manner, thus using these technology skills can help you deliver quality content to your client.
Learning to write engaging headlines– The most important thing of a content is its headlines, this is because people get attracted to the heading first and then they read the whole article. Make sure that you learn how to create engaging titles for your content.
Copywriting skills– Copywriting skill is the skill of making persuasive content that turns readers into customers. Copywriting skills also help a lot in building foundational writing skills and helps the content writers in creating compelling calls to action that inspire the readers to make certain specific decisions.

Other international career options in IP law

These are some other international career options in the field of IP law.

IP Manager

IP managers and the patent managers are those project managers who have extensive technological knowledge in their field and as well as in the field of intellectual property. For example, an individual who has enough experience in the field of IP and as well as in the field of engineering, and who also possesses the ability to manage all the legal formalities and contractual difficulties in the industry, is hired for the position of IP manager. There are various companies and organisations that hire IP managers for the purpose of international contract negotiation and also for acquisitions and mergers.

Fashion, sports and media

Fashion, media and sport are the most crucial areas of intellectual property of law. Most intellectual property law cases evolve from these areas. These industries are heavily reliant on the services of IP lawyers. These industries not only need a copyright, patent and trademark registration but they also need to generate a significant amount of products in the areas of franchising, licensing, IP prosecution and IP assignment all around the world.

IP blogging

As we all know that the scope of intellectual property is extremely broad, and because of this it makes it possible for individuals to write about it and pass the information to other people. There are various students and other professionals that participate in blogging initiatives and make an earning from them. Professionals in the field of IP law do IP blogging as an extra thing for their work profile, IP blogging helps the professionals build a reputation for themselves while also helping them in teaching the general public about the IP law.

Patent analysts

All the potential patent applications are checked by the patent analysts. These patent analysts also work for the companies that are creating new products or assessing prospective products to check if they are patentable. They are mainly responsible for doing extensive research to check if similar items have received the patent or if the patents for similar products are seeking approval. It is the duty of the patent analyst to make sure that a patent application will not be challenged in the court. Patent analysts always work with a huge amount of scientific data and they are required to keep up with all the latest research and trends.

Patent administrator

Any legal professional with a good internship experience in the field of IP law is eligible to become a patent administrator. A patent administrator is a professional who is responsible for making and coordinating with all the procedures of documentation for patent applications and filings.

Responsibilities of a patent administrator

These are some of the main responsibilities of a patent administrator.

Filing applications for patents with the Patent and Trademark Office, the Indian Patent Office of the respective nation and the World Intellectual Property Office on a timely basis to meet all the deadlines.
Updating and the maintaining the files of the client
Making Information Disclosure Statements and Certificate Statements for the references mentioned in various search reports and filing them with the USPTO.
Making various important documents such as Oath or Declaration, Power of attorney and other forms that are related to patents.
Keeping a track of all the upcoming deadlines and notifying the team members as well as the clients about the upcoming deadlines.

Salary of IP lawyer in India and abroad

In India the salary of an IP lawyer depends upon its roles and the organisation in which he is employed. According to Glassdoor the average annual salary of an IP lawyer employed in a tier 1 law firm remains around 11-12 lakh rupees per annum in their initial position. However, if you are an independent practitioner then your earnings depend upon the amount of clients and cases you deal with.

According to the reports of the US Department of Labor, the typical compensation for lawyers yearly is around one lakh twenty thousand dollars per year. However, according to the Payscale, the average salary of an IP lawyer is around one lakh thirty thousand dollars per year. On the other hand, Salary.com mentions that the attorneys who are experienced in the field of IP law make more than two lakh dollars in a year.

Why IP law is considered as a popular career choice

Becoming an IP lawyer has become a glorious career choice nowadays amongst the young lawyers. Due to the popularity of IP law amongst the young lawyers, their curiosity of what is IP law has also increased and young lawyers are desperate to know what a career in IP law has to offer.

IP law has definitely become one of the most lucrative fields in law and with the growth of technology, the demand for IP lawyers is also increasing. Here is a list of reasons as to why IP law has become a popular career choice especially amongst young lawyers:

International exposure

Under IP law practice, a lot of international transactions are involved, for example, when an intellectual property has to be registered in any country outside of India or under the international IP related conventions. Sometimes cases related to infringement of Intellectual property in foreign countries also occur and all these cases are of international nature due to involvement of foreign parties. For example, the case of turmeric which was given patent by the US government but it had always been a traditional knowledge in Indian households.

In all such cases, the IP lawyers are exposed to international law practice and they also gain many international clients due to such cases. Also, practising Ip in foreign countries is easier for IP lawyers as the IP laws are very similar across the world because most of the domestic laws follow the rules of TRIPS agreement. There are only minor differences related to jurisdictions which can easily be managed by lawyers.

Industry is recession proof

Intellectual Property is not affected by the recession in the economy as it is dependent on the creativity of individuals. Ideas and inventions do not stop in the face of economic recession. This is why employment in this sector will not go down. In fact, the jobs in this industry are projected to grow in the coming decade.

It is an evergreen and exciting field of law

As intellectual property rights have been developed recently, compared to old statutes and laws, there is a large scope of opportunities available for lawyers to grow exponentially. Moreover, new challenges emerge all the time which require the lawyers to be proactive and analytical. Intellectual property drives economic growth and competitiveness.

Lucrative salaries and non-monetary perks

Financial stability is an important aspect of any job you pursue and this industry guarantees it. As per PayScale, a Patent Attorney, on average earns $138,054. The average salary of a Trademark Attorney is $106,386. (This is just an indicative average as per the salary trends in the United States). Other benefits include bonuses, conveyance fees, health insurance, etc. (These differ from place to place). Intellectual property creates and supports high-paying jobs.

High stakes opportunities

Intellectual property has the power to either make a company or break a company, matters of IPR are always high stake. If you are someone who is working in this field and you get a high stake opportunity of IPR you will be able to make a hell lot of money and fame for yourself. Other than this you will also be able to make some big connections in industries.

Different kinds of work

The field on intellectual property rights is extremely wide, there are trademarks, tradesecrets, patents, as well as copyrights. If you work in the IPR sector you will get a chance to work with all these things. Being an IP lawyer you can learn several things such as litigation, portfolio management, licensing, registration, etc. you can also select your specific niche area such as entertainment copyright or pharmaceutical patents.

Growing technology and media sectors

In the recent past, the world has seen major growth in the field of technology, such as the emergence of AI models, 5G, tech related companies, food technology, fintech companies. Due to the emergence of such companies, the IP sector is also booming as a consequence because these companies need to register their patents, copyright and trademarks. These companies are also doing a major amount of work in licensing, franchising and assignment of IP to third parties. Overall all these companies are hiring IP lawyers due to the big pile of IP related work. The sectors that have major IP related works on hand includes manufacturing industry, FMGC, pharma, fashion but the biggest ones being tech and media companies.

Creative field

Unlike any other area of law, IP stands to be very different because intellectual property related laws are much more different than other laws. The other laws sometimes become boring and mundane due to the same kind of work over and over. But IP has a creative aspect attached to it. The meaning of intellectual property itself is that it is the property that originates from someone’s intellect. This aspect of intellectual property gives it an element of limitlessness which means that there is no limit of what all can be created by usage of the human’s brain and although the IP lawyers do not take any part in creation of that property they sure do in protecting it from any kind of infringement. The work of IP lawyers is not just strictly limited to the laws in the statutes like other areas, here in fact, the lawyers most of the time have to use their intellect also in coming up with ways to defend their client’s Ip and claiming how it is different from other IPs. The lawyers may also be required to do other fun tasks as a part of their job, which cannot be found in any other areas, such as watching movies or shows to determine whether the work is an original work or not, or whether there has been an infringement of their client’s IP in such shows/movies.

Emerging trends in IP law

The IP field has definitely become very popular these days, but there are still many trends that are emerging in IP and that can change the trajectory of growth of the IP industry in the future. It is very essential for the young lawyers to be aware of these emerging trends so that they can prepare themselves according to the needs of the future of IP.

Rise or growth of digital age

India is becoming digitised in many sectors. And with this digitisation, digital assets have also started emerging in the market. Digital assets like cryptocurrencies have become popular in the last few years. Businesses are also looking forward to growing their own digital currencies by creating new blockchain related inventions. Many individuals had already started making money through another digital asset which are also known as non-fungible tokens.

Utilising automation and technology to enhance productivity

There has been a lot of interference in the field of IP law by the influence of technology and AI. Various AI powered tools have come into the market that are used by the law firms to do various tasks such as reviewing legal documents, contract analysis, and trademark and patent searching. With the help of these procedures firms are able to decrease human error and lawyers have got more time to concentrate on their important work. Furthermore, there are various cloud-based platforms that are improving the accessibility and flexibility of IP lawyers and clients by enabling safe work, document sharing, etc.

Best international market for IP law

According to the reports of the US Chamber of Commerce on Intellectual Property Rights, America and England are two of the biggest markets of IPR. The top countries according to this report were the US, Germany, France, Sweden and the UK. The overall score of England and America remained the same, the score of America was 95.48% and the score of England was 94.14%.

The report stated that the UK has a sophisticated and strong national IP environment and it is a model for injunctive-style relief for all the stakeholder when they are battling with online infringement. This recent result shows that the IP environment of the UK gives a status of global leader, and it will eventually help the UK in becoming one of the best places in the World for promoting new discoveries and ideas. Thus, in short we can consider the IP market of England to become the best international market of IP in future.

Global challenges under IP law firm services market

These are some of the global challenges faced by the global intellectual property law firm services market.

Differentiation of services among existing organisations– There has been a lot of differentiation of services among all the existing players in the IPR sector. The market has become highly competitive and it has become very difficult for all the service providers to differentiate their services and stand out from the others. This thing eventually has resulted in the decrease of need for traditional services and has increased the demand for specialised IP services.
Presence of non-traditional players– A lot of non-traditional players such as consulting firms, technology companies and start-ups have come into the IPR sector and they have started to provide specialised services. These non-traditional players are using their expertise of technology and are offering more customised and cost-effective services than the traditional service providers, and because of this there has been an increased competition in the market and the demand for traditional services has also reduced.

Conclusion

IPR is one of those sectors in which there has been a lot of scope for legal professionals all around the world. There are various legal professionals in India who want to pursue IP law as their career outside India in any foreign country. There are a lot of opportunities available in IP law outside India, such as working in an IP law firm, becoming a patent administrator, teaching, content writing, etc. here in this article we have already dealt with all those opportunities that you can grab in IP law outside India, we hope that you have got sufficient information on this topic and now you ready to pursue your dream.

Frequently asked questions

What are the skills required to become an IP lawyer?

There are few crucial skills that you must excel in order to become a successful IP lawyer, and they are as follows:

Networking– It is also one of the most important things that you need to learn. Make sure that you join content writing groups in LinkedIn and Facebook and connect with individuals who are proficient in content writing.
Remain updated with relevant knowledge and experience– The field of IP law is rapidly evolving and thus, it makes it extremely necessary for all the IP lawyers to remain updated with all the latest rules and regulations under IP law.
Negotiation skills– Matters under IP law often include negotiations, thus if you are an IP lawyer then there are high chances that you will have to negotiate on behalf of your client with the opposite party, thus, having a negotiation skill is also extremely necessary for an IP lawyer.

Do IP lawyers outside India make more money than Indian IP lawyers?

Yes, IP lawyers in foreign countries such as England and America make a lot more money than Indian lawyers, this is because there is a demand for such lawyers and the number of skilled lawyers are also less in number and thus because of this they charge more money from their clients. Whereas in India, there are less opportunities and more number of lawyers and because of the abundance of IP lawyers in India, it becomes easier for clients to pick lawyers with less fees.

Which is the best international market for starting a career in IP law?

Currently, there are two countries at the top of this list: England and America. However, it is said that England is the most preferred country for starting an IP career and it promotes new inventions and discoveries more than other countries.

References

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