Areas of Intellectual Property Law
The primary forms of intellectual property law are copyright, trademarks, trade secrets, and patents. Refer to this guide's section on each area for relevant resources related to your research in entrepreneurial law. For a dedicated research guide on intellectual property that covers copyright, trademarks, trade secrets, and patents more thoroughly, see the Gallagher Law Library's dedicated guide:
- Intellectual Property Research [Gallagher Law Library]Includes patent law, copyright law, trademark law, trade secrets law, with a section on foreign and international IP.
State and Federal Government Resources
- Washington Secretary of State - Corporations - TrademarksProvides step by step instructions and forms on how to register, renew, assign, amend or correct a trademark.
- State of Washington Business Licensing Service - Trade Name RegistrationProvides step by step instructions and forms on how to register, license, renew or cancel a trade name.
- U.S. Copyright OfficeProvides information on how to register a copyright, record a document, search copyright records, as well as access to Copyright Law, regulations, forms and circulars.
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) - Innovator and Entrepreneur ResourcesProvides a listing of available resources related to patents and trademarks that are particularly relevant to entrepreneurs and inventors.
Resources on Commercial Databases
- Bloomberg Law - Patents & Trade Secrets Practice CenterIncludes links to primary law and secondary sources as well as practical guidance materials.
- Bloomberg Law - Trademarks & Copyrights Practice CenterResources include News & Analysis, legislative and regulatory trackers, books, treatises including Portfolios, opinions and decisions and international IP resources.
- Westlaw Practical Law - Intellectual PropertyIncludes practice notes, checklists, toolkits and more related to all areas of intellectual property. Also includes state-specific resources.
- Lexis Practical Guidance - Intellectual Property & TechnologyIncludes practice notes, forms, checklists and more related to all areas of intellectual property. Also includes a state law comparison tool.
- HeinOnline's Intellectual Property Law CollectionWith millions of pages of legislative histories, treatises, documents, classics, and more relating to copyrights, patents, and trademarks, this collection allows researchers to search across all intellectual property law materials in one database.
IP Resources for Business Lawyers
Intellectual Property Deskbook for the Business Lawyer by Publication Date: 2019
The Intellectual Property Handbook by Publication Date: 2016
