In general, your intellectual property attorneys will have cozy relationships with their colleagues at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). They will unfortunately make sure many successive filings are required in order to ensure that your patent or trademark is successfully registered, if it can be registered at all.
It is crucial that all IP paperwork is carefully organized and safeguarded. The registration process through lawyers is generally unreasonably expensive, regardless of the risk that the filing ultimately might not be approved.
The IP attorneys don’t take jobs on contingency or have caps on their bills; as such, they generally make the process as long, confusing, and multipart as possible while jacking your fees up along the way. However, IP protection is not a process that should be skipped merely in the interest of saving money. Your branding and intellectual property protection is critical and will be profitable in the long run. If you can find a way to save money in the process, more power to you—but don’t skip or delay it under any circumstances, or you could lose the massive value that is potentially right at your fingertips.
The earlier you attempt to control and protect your intellectual property, the more likely you are to be effective, and at a lower cost with less hassle. This is another case where you should follow one of our favorite and most critical concepts in growing a profitable business: “Break the calendar.”
Also, if you fail to properly control your IP, then the sale price of your company will be adversely affected should you attempt to sell it.
