When to Obtain Legal Counsel

The decision to engage legal counsel is a bit like Justice Potter Stewart's famous quote about obscenity. Justice Stewart remarked that he could not provide a precise definition of obscenity but that he would know it when he saw it. Similarly, knowing when to obtain the assistance of experienced legal counsel is a judgment call. For example, the temporary use of a trademark may not require registration with the PTO. Similarly, even a company's application for trademark registration for a key mark may be handled in house, although if the PTO makes objections to the registration, outside counsel may be needed. Most copyright applications can be handled in house. On the other hand, companies that have portfolios of software ...

Get Protecting Your Company's Intellectual Property: A Practical Guide to Trademarks, Copyrights, Patents & Trade Secrets now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.