Finding an attorney is easier than hiring a patent attorney. By that, I mean there are numerous directories online, including the U.S. Patent Office listing of all currently registered patent attorneys and patent agents throughout the United States. But just like the phone book or yellow pages, these directories tell you little about the patent attorney, his or her experience, and what they charge.
Obviously, hiring a patent attorney is not like buying milk at your local grocer. You could probably care less about the background of people working at the grocery store, as long as the shelves are stocked, there is someone who can help you find something if you can’t find it yourself, and there is someone ready to take your payment at the checkout. Now days you typically don’t even need a person at the checkout if there is an automated checkout available.
Hiring a patent attorney is more like trying to find a doctor. Perhaps not quite the same. A patent attorney isn’t going to be poking and prodding you while you sit on the examination table wearing that ridiculous cover-up. But the patent attorney you hire to help protect your invention will be (or should be) working closely with you to learn about your invention, and to understand your needs and goals for your invention.
For example, the patent attorney needs to understand who you are. Are you an entrepreneur who wants to make, market, and sell your invention? Or are you a serial inventor who just wants to come up with new ideas and then sell those to established companies to make, market, and sell, while you move onto your next big idea?
Helping an entrepreneur is completely different than helping a serial inventor. And if the patent attorney doesn’t understand this, you likely will have difficulty getting along with the patent attorney you hire.