Your first conversation with an IP professional

You do not need to research the law before you speak to an IP professional. Bring a clear account of what happened and the decision you face. Then the first meeting goes to the questions that matter instead of rebuilding the story from an overflowing inbox.

Check that the service fits the question

Before you book, check the person's status on the official register for their profession:

• Solicitors: the Solicitors Regulation Authority's Solicitors Register shows whether someone is a solicitor and where they work, and whether the SRA regulates a firm. It also lists firms the SRA has closed down and people it has prohibited from practising.1 Search the "All" tab and spell names exactly; a name you cannot find is not proof the person is regulated.1
• UK patent and trade mark attorneys: only regulated people may call themselves a patent attorney or registered trade mark attorney. The Intellectual Property Regulation Board (IPReg) regulates them and sets their exams, insurance, annual training and code of conduct.2 Search IPReg's register by name, firm or postcode; anyone not listed there is not regulated.5 You can hire an unregulated adviser, but you lose those safeguards.2
• U.S. patents: only registered patent attorneys and agents, and people granted limited recognition, can represent you before the USPTO in patent matters. Search the USPTO's register of active practitioners.3
• U.S. trademarks: if you live outside the U.S., a U.S.-licensed attorney must represent you at the USPTO. Many trademark filing companies are not affiliated with licensed U.S. attorneys and cannot lawfully provide the service. A real attorney files from their own USPTO.gov account, so never share your password; the USPTO says anyone who asks for it is likely a scammer.4

A register check proves status, not fit. Ask whether the person handles your type of work in the country concerned: a filing, an ownership review, a licensing negotiation and a dispute each call for different experience. For a U.S. trademark, ask about their experience with USPTO applications and with Trademark Trial and Appeal Board proceedings.4 Then ask who will attend, what to send beforehand, how the meeting is charged and whether document review is included.

Ask about free first help. In the UK, many attorneys give a short first consultation free, and CIPA's IP Clinics offer 45 minutes of free advice from a qualified patent attorney.2 In the U.S., check the USPTO's Patent Pro Bono and law school clinic programs for patents,3 and a state or local bar association's attorney referral service for trademarks.4 Do not ask the IP office to pick someone for you: the USPTO cannot recommend an attorney or agent, and its employees cannot give legal advice.3 4 Outside these countries, start from Finding reliable IP information in your country.

Prepare the story in plain language

Write a short description that names the work or right, the people involved, what happened and the decision you face. Add the countries connected to the matter and the dates that matter: when you made the work, when you published or showed it, when you signed anything.

If you received a notice, a court document or any letter with a response date, give that date when you book the appointment, not at the end of the meeting. The deadline decides what the professional must do first.

For a proposed licensing deal, you might say: "A company wants to use six of my illustrations on packaging. I want to know what I can still do with the pictures and how the payment would work." That gives the professional a practical starting point without assuming the answer.

Bring the documents that explain the question

Before you send detailed or confidential material, ask how the provider wants to receive it and what they need to check before they take on the matter. Then gather what fits your question:

• the agreement under discussion and any earlier permissions or licences;
• official records, such as registrations, applications and correspondence with an IP office;
• emails and messages with the other side;
• a few clearly labelled examples of the work, with dates.

If ownership is the question, trace the chain first with Following the ownership trail.

Keep facts and assumptions apart. "The photographer told me this in an email" is different from "I assumed the payment covered every use." Mention missing records and awkward facts as well as the ones that support the outcome you want. The professional can only advise on the situation you actually have.

Leave knowing what happens next

Before the meeting ends, ask:

1. What are the main uncertainties, and what information would change your advice?
2. Which choices do I have, and what does each one cost?
3. If there is further work, exactly what does it cover, and which decisions stay with me? For a U.S. trademark filing, for example, ask whether responding to an examiner's refusal is included.4
4. Who is doing what next, and by which date?

Ask for any unfamiliar term to be explained with an example. If ongoing work is proposed, get the engagement terms in writing and read the scope before you agree. Do not leave an introductory meeting guessing whether anyone has taken responsibility for a filing, a response or another deadline: if the answer is unclear, ask, "Are you handling this, or am I?"