North Carolina intellectual property law (IP) is put in place to help you as an inventor or innovator protect the creative designs you conceptualize. It is also in place to help you carry those designs from start to finish and come out on the other side of the process with an end product.

North Carolina intellectual property law covers such topics as: intellectual property, unfair competition litigation, trade secrets, copyrights, e-commerce and Internet transactions, fiduciary duty, patent prosecution, intellectual property litigation, licensing, protection and trademarks.

In order to make the most of the process of protecting intellectual property in North Carolina:

1. Become familiar with general intellectual property laws.

2. Find an intellectual property attorney in North Carolina.

3. Discuss your idea with an intellectual property attorney in North Carolina, but be prepared with samples, mockups, diagrams or anything to give the consultant something to help him or her visualize what you are needing help with in the field of North Carolina intellectual property law. Also be ready to answer questions, lots of questions.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Cover the basics before diving into North Carolina intellectual property law

Start with a basic knowledge of patents before specifically researching NC IP law.

I recommend: Look at the Inventors Resources from the United States Patent and Trademark Office to help you determine if you are heading in the right direction. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is another great patent information website.

Consider a nationwide patent firm over a North Carolina intellectual property law firm

There are many national firms that can help you with your law NC intellectual property needs. They are large and experienced, and they generally have run tens of thousands of patent searches for their many clients.

I recommend: Read Consulting is a national firm that specializes in product liability, failure analysis, patent disputes and intellectual property. They even conduct reverse engineering. Invention Home can not only help inventors move their product to market, but they also specialize in putting companies in touch with inventors. Litman Law has run over 30,000 patent searches.

Find a local North Carolina intellectual property law firm through a NC patent search engine

Forget generic search engines like Google and Yahoo. Instead, you can look up your search on North Carolina intellectual property law by using a state-specific part of a national website.

I recommend: Intellectual Property Law Firms.com can help you find a NC patent attorney. It is a nationwide directory of patent, trademark, copyright lawyers, and it also holds news and information on the topic. FindLaw is great for the public as well as those in the industry. At Justia, you can find not only legal information, but lawyer blogs as well. Lawyers.com gives you a multiple page listing of firms where to find an intellectual property lawyer North Carolina.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Do market research before meeting with intellectual property law firms in North Carolina to see if your invention would even be profitable.
• •  Consider your own patent search before conferring with a professional on NC IP law. It could save you time and money in the long run if you discover that your idea has already been documented and patented.