Helping someone find the right kind of support

After a workshop, someone says, “I think I need a lawyer.” They might want to understand a term, file an application, negotiate a contract, or answer a letter with a deadline. Each of those needs a different kind of help, so find out which one it is before you suggest anyone.

Ask about the question they want answered

Ask, “What do you want to be clearer about after the conversation?” Let them answer in general terms. They do not need to describe a whole dispute or an unpublished project to a facilitator in a public setting, so offer to talk aside or by message.

Then sort the answer:

• They want to understand a term or how a right works. Point them to an article or to their national IP office’s own guidance. WIPO’s directory lists the national and regional IP offices, each with a contact page, so you can find the right office for their country.1 Finding reliable IP information in your country shows how to use it.
• They are preparing a filing. They need the office’s procedural guidance, or a practitioner who files that kind of application in that country.
• They face a contested ownership question, a demand letter, or a complaint against their work. They need legal advice on their specific facts. Reading a demand letter without assuming it is a verdict helps them read the letter first.

Write down the country and the kind of right (copyright, trademark, patent, design, trade secret). Both decide who can help.

Distinguish the services on offer

An information service, an educator, a business mentor, a creative agent and a lawyer each do different work, and only some of them can give legal advice or act for someone before an IP office. Ask any proposed provider three things: what work they actually do, for which countries and kinds of right, and whether they can take this matter on now. “IP expert” answers none of those.

Each office sets who may represent applicants. The USPTO, for example, states that not everyone is eligible to represent you: for a U.S. trademark, use a U.S. attorney licensed and in good standing in at least one state; for a U.S. patent application, use an attorney or agent registered to practice before the USPTO.2

Make practical constraints part of the choice

Ask whether language, accessibility, cost, location or timing changes what would help. Someone may need a short paid consultation, a free program, or an appointment outside working hours. If they want a trusted supporter in the meeting, they should ask the provider whether that is possible.

Free help exists for some people and some kinds of work. Check eligibility before you offer it as an option:

• U.S. Patent Pro Bono Program. Regional programs connect inventors and small businesses with volunteer patent attorneys and agents who give free legal help preparing and filing a patent application. Applicants generally need a gross household income below three times the federal poverty guidelines, must show they understand the patent system (a provisional application on file or the USPTO’s certificate training course), and must be able to describe how the invention works. Each regional program sets its own details; start from the state coverage map on the program page.3
• USPTO-certified law school clinics. Law students working under a faculty supervisor give free patent or trademark help at participating schools. Each school sets its own intake criteria and geographic limits; contact the school directly using the list on the USPTO page.4
• WIPO Inventor Assistance Program. In participating countries, listed on the program page, volunteer IP experts help inventors and small businesses with patent applications for free. Beneficiaries still pay official fees, translation costs and other out-of-pocket expenses.5
• Defending a claim. Finding help when defending yourself feels unaffordable covers free and limited-scope help for that.

Check the provider before you recommend them. Where a profession has an official register, look the person up. In the U.S., the USPTO’s patent practitioner search finds active registered patent attorneys and agents, leaves out anyone inactive, suspended or excluded, and links to a list of practitioners publicly disciplined since 1997.6 Ask what a quoted price covers: an introductory discussion, a document review, an application, or ongoing representation. For filing work, compare the quote with the office’s own fee schedule; the USPTO advises checking an invention promotion firm’s prices against its fees and being wary of any firm that promises too much or costs too much.2 A polished listing is where your questions start, not where they end.

If the person has a letter or official notice with a response date, their first call should be to a lawyer who handles that kind of IP dispute in that country, made well before the date passes.

Offer a choice of how to continue

Give the person contact details and one sentence on why each option might fit. If they want an introduction, ask what they want you to share and let them approve the wording first; Making an introduction with the person’s permission covers how. Tell them about any relationship you have with a provider, including a referral fee or other benefit.

Reading more before contacting anyone is a valid choice. Good support leaves the person knowing their options and what each one would provide. It does not steer them to your preferred provider or push them into a commitment before they understand the service.