Shorthand for: It's ours, hands off. (Source)

Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind. And we don't mean the secret language you created to communicate with your cat Misty. Although...if you wanted to publish a book in or about that language, then that's exactly what we mean.

Essentially, intellectual property is a fairly nebulous term and the laws that govern it aren't exactly black and white. At what point is something that you've formulated in your head a big enough idea, or a novel enough concept, to warrant legal entitlement to its real-world applications?

That's where intellectual property lawyers come in. We need those guys to defend someone's creation, design, symbol, image, name, or invention (artistic or otherwise). Lots. that's why IP lawyers make a seriously good living—median pay is around $150,000 annually (source). Sure, it costs a lot to become a lawyer, but land (and win) a few hot-shot cases and you'll be paying back those student loans in no time.

You're probably asking, "So what specifically constitutes intellectual property?" And even if you aren't, we're going to tell you.

In the entertainment world, consider this: if you were to release a movie tomorrow called Batdude, featuring a masked guy who fights crime by night in a big city, with the same iconic logo you'd associate with Batman, what do you think would happen? You can bet the IP lawyers over at DC Comics would be calling, emailing, and sending carrier pigeons within minutes telling you to quit infringing on their cash cow.

 

To sue or not to sue... (Source)

The key word in that last paragraph is associate. The murky line that IP lawyers have to argue for is whether some new design or movie or painting is similar enough to a previously created idea to warrant infringement. And how is that line determined? It can happen in different ways, but often the question of whether profit is being made, and how much, is the deciding factor.

As an IP lawyer, most of what you'll be doing is writing cease-and-desist letters to people or companies whose products are far too similar to those of your client. You'll demand that the company or individual change aspects of their product so that it becomes legally distinct from your clients product. What does that mean? It's kind of a case by case deal. It could be anything from hanging a logo, to completely redesigning the crushing mechanism of your new pepper grinder.

In some cases, you'll be responding to such letters—unless you go into the specialty of patents. Patent law is a more specific form of IP law, focusing on getting your clients' ideas out there rather than protecting what's already been made. 

In order to argue for or against a patent, to get a committee to issue a patent, or to defend an existing patent from infringement, you need to know science—meaning a knowledge base deeper than a few Bill Nye episodes. Patent law requires you to understand physics, engineering, computer science, chemistry...all of that difficult stuff.

When it comes to defending copyrights and trademarks, most of what you'd be doing is entertainment law. You won't need to bone up on scientific measurements or the axioms that govern our natural world, but it'll help if you understand things like contracts, non-compete clauses, and royalties payouts.

Because honestly, what is worse than this guy having his brand ruined?

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