Companies and inventors often have a difficult time locating an experienced patent attorney in Houston. A patent attorney can be found through a variety of resources. Importantly, most companies and individuals desire to employ the services of an experienced patent attorney.
There are approximately four hundred licensed patent attorneys serving the Houston area. A large portion of these licensed patent attorneys are employed by large corporations. Another sizable segment of this population is employed by large law firms. Still, a third segment of Houston patent attorneys is dedicated solely to patent litigation. There is a relatively small population of Houston patent attorneys that are available to serve the interests of companies and individuals in the preparation and prosecution of patent applications before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Typically, a Houston patent attorney can be found by a Google or Yahoo search. This type of search will produce a large number of patent law firms that specialize in a variety of fields. Unfortunately, the various websites of these patent law firms do not provide companies and individuals with information as to the experience level of a particular patent attorney. These sites rarely list the overall experience of the firm with regards to the preparation and filing of patent applications.
Another technique for locating a Houston patent attorney can be through an examination of the database provided by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (www.uspto.gov). This information can provide a list of licensed patent attorneys in the area. The Registration Number of the patent attorney can denote years of experience in the field. For example, a Houston patent attorney having a relatively low registration number will have more years of experience than someone with a high registration number. Typically, a Houston patent attorney with a registration number of less than 30,000 will have approximately thirty (30) years of experience.
Years of experience should not be the determining factor for selecting a Houston area patent attorney who can file your patent application. Many experienced patent attorneys have devoted their entire career to patent litigation. Many patent attorneys work “in house” for very large companies. A more accurate determinate of experience should be the number of patents that have been granted by way of the services of the Houston patent attorney. One can accurately determine the number of patents that a licensed patent attorney has been responsible for by examining the database of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. In particular, under “Issued Patents,” a search can be conducted as to the name of the patent attorney. This list will generate all patents associated with a particular patent attorney. As well, one can gather a sense of the area of expertise of the patent attorney.
Since the selection of a patent attorney is critical to the success of a company or inventor, it is important to choose the Houston patent attorney having the most experience in a particular field of technology. The experience of the patent attorney will ensure the patent application is filed accurately and efficiently. It can also significantly reduce the patent cost by virtue of efficiencies implemented with years of experience.
Written by John S. Egbert, member of the State Bar of Texas, Houston Intellectual Property Law Association, International Federation of Industrial Property Attorneys, International Trademark Association (INTA), and founder of Egbert Law Offices in Houston, Texas.
