Washington 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.

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

In order to make the most out of the Washington intellectual property law process:

1. Become familiar with general intellectual property laws.

2. Find a an intellectual property attorney in WA.

3. Discuss your idea with intellectual property attorneys in Washington, 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 Washington patent 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 Washington intellectual property law

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

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 Washington intellectual property law firm

There are many national firms that can help you with your needs regarding intellectual property law in Washington. 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 WA intellectual property law firm through a Washington patent law search engine

Forget generic search engines like Google and Yahoo. Instead, you can search for intellectual property lawyers in Washington by using a state-specific part of a national website.

I recommend: Intellectual Property Law Firms.com can help you find a Washington patent law firm. FindLaw is another online resource for a Washington state IP law firm. 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.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

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