How to Become an Intellectual Property Lawyer: Career Guide, Courses, After 12th, Jobs, Scope, Salary 2023

What Does an Intellectual Property Lawyer Do?

An Intellectual Property Lawyer is basically a Law Graduate and is entrusted with the job of working for the Legal Rights of the clients.

• The candidate has to work along with his client and file for his trademark rights and keep a constant check if there is any kind of violation against the freedom and rights of the clients.
• As an Intellectual property lawyer, the person has to be very vigilant and should be well versed with the technicalities related to licensing and registrations. He also has to keep a regular check if there is any sort of plagiarism against the product developed by his client.
• Additionally, the person should be well aware of the latest rules and amendments that were done in the IP laws.
• They are incharge of clients issues such as licensing, transfers, copyrights etc.

Types of Intellectual Property Lawyer 

There are different types of Intellectual Property Lawyer and the job role depends on the choice of the candidate. The candidates can find the different job roles in the space below:

• Legal Associate: As a Legal Associate, the candidate has to manage the clients, develop strategies, gather evidence, and review the case from time to time. He also identifies the loopholes in the evidence provided by the opponents and then manipulates the same in the favour of his clients.
• Intellectual Property Lawyer: This is the direct application of the aforesaid course and as an IP lawyer has to work on the drafting documents related to the licensing, patents of the clients, working on trademark law, distribution, copyright, scrutinizing technology transfers, working on patenting the franchise of the clients, and carrying out trade secret projects.
• Lecturer: The job of an Intellectual Property Lawyer is to impart correct guidance to the students who are pursuing an Intellectual Property Lawyer course. Apart from guidance, a lecturer is also involved in assessing the knowledge of the students, planning the course plan, and writing research proposals for research papers.

Steps On How to Become an Intellectual Property Lawyer 

The steps mentioned below gives a clear idea of how to become an Intellectual Property Lawyer:

• Decision Making: This is the first step of becoming an IP Lawyer and for this, the candidates must think if he is really interested in the Law field and moreover the IP sector. The entrance test to become a Lawyer is conducted usually after the class 12th exam hence the candidates should conduct a thorough assessment of their interests and marks scored in the different subjects of the aforesaid subjects. The candidates opting for the IP Lawyer have to pursue an Integrated LLB degree. Post completion of the entrance test the candidates should also be well aware of the colleges which provide the best guidance on the course chosen.
• Subject Choices: The second most important thing to choose for the candidates opting for IP Law is the perfect combination of subjects. The candidates have to choose Humanities in Class 12th with History, Political Science and Economics as main subjects. All the chosen subjects should be having maximum marks in the Intermediate in the major subjects.
• Entrance Exam Preparation: The candidates upon clearing the Class 12th exam have to opt for any of the law entrance tests i.e. CLAT, LSAT, IPU CET, etc. The candidates have to complete the test with a good AIR such that they get an opportunity to go to good colleges like National Law Universities or Central Universities. Upon successful completion of the entrance test, the candidates are called to appear for the counseling session conducted by the College.

• Selecting Correct Colleges: Choosing the correct college is one of the most important requisites for a good knowledge of the course they are opting for:
  • Know the Ranking of the college and get a clear idea of the faculty of the college.
  • Be in touch with the seniors or previous alumni of the college, they provide the real picture of the college.
  • Check out the overall fee of the college for the Intellectual Property.
  • Get an idea of the placement figures of the college especially the percentage of placement for the aforesaid course.
• After Qualifying Exam: Post qualifying for the exam, the candidates will get admission to any of the Law colleges and then the three-year journey of the LLB starts. The candidates will get a lot of opportunities to study theoretical and cases.

How to Become an Intellectual Property Lawyer in India? 

Becoming an IP Lawyer is not an easy task and a candidate has to be creative in his approach, vigilante and should be well versed in the major technicalities that are involved while solving any case. A lawyer is also responsible for developing effective strategies to make the case stronger.

School Level Preparation

The candidates opting for a career as a Lawyer in the IP sector have to study Humanities with subjects like History, Political Science and Economics as major subjects at the Senior Secondary level. The candidates must make sure that he is interested in these subjects right from class 10th. Also, since the admission of the candidate is based on the entrance tests therefore he should start his preparation early from class 10th/class 11th.

How to Become Intellectual Property Lawyer after 12th? 

UG Preparation 

For admission to the UG course, the candidates are required to go through the following criteria as mentioned in the space below:

• Complete your 10+2 with 45% marks in aggregate in any of the streams or disciplines from a recognized board.
• Appear for a Law entrance test i.e. CLAT, DUlear either the All India Level exam i.e. CLAT, LSAT, AILET, etc and try to perform exceptionally well in the same.
• The candidates can then take up admission in either 3 year LLB program or an integrated law program i.e. BA LLB, B.COM LLB, etc the duration of which is 5 years.

PG Preparation 

Post completion of the Undergraduate course, the candidates can choose to pursue higher studies i.e. Master's program or PG Diploma in any Intellectual property Law Specializations.

• The candidates are required to pursue either the LLM program or PG Diploma in Intellectual property Law.
• The admission to this program is given on the basis of the marks scored in the All India Level exams i.e. CLAT PG or admission is also given directly on the basis of performance in the entrance tests conducted by the college.

Courses to becoming Intellectual Property Lawyer

The candidates willing to pursue a career in Intellectual Property have to pursue an LLM program from a reputed college.

LLB Course

LLB in IPR or a general LLB course is the first step in order to enter the field of law. To become an Intellectual property Lawyer candidates must start by seeking admission in the LLB course.

LLB Admission Process 

• LLB Admission usually takes place through entrance exams. Some universities offer admission on the basis of merit as well.
• Colleges like Amity University and few more offer admission through a merit list of marks scored by a candidate in their 10+2 or equivalent examinations.
• While several top LLB colleges like Delhi University, etc organize an entrance exam like TS LAWCET, AP LAWCET, SET SLAT, DU LLB, etc.

LLM Course 

LLM in Intellectual Property and Trade Law Course is the most sought-after course for the candidates who wish to start there as a Lawyer. This is basically a one-year PG Diploma or full-fledged Master’s program and the candidates who possess an LLB degree can only pursue the same.

How to Become Intellectual Property Lawyer Abroad 

Few lines about which countries offer this career and difference between India and abroad procedure,

Intellectual Property Lawyer in UK

Admission Process

• The candidate should have completed Intermediate with BA LLB from any reputed college with 60% marks in aggregate.
• The candidate should have completed TOEFL/IELTS Or PTE.
• An IELTS score equivalent to 7.5 is mandatory for admission.
• The annual fee for pursuing an LLM course from LSE is equal to $ 34,809 per annum

Top Colleges to become an Intellectual Property Lawyer in UK

Intellectual Property Lawyer in USA 

Admission Process

• The candidate must have studied LLB from any recognized college of India with 60% in aggregate.
• The candidate should have a GPA of 3.0/4.0 [B Grade].
• The applicants from India, have to clear the IELTS program with 7.5 marks.
• Clearing the GRE examination with a minimum of 292 scores is mandatory for the candidates applying for this program.

Top Colleges to become an Intellectual Property Lawyer in USA 

Intellectual Property Lawyer in Canada 

Admission Process

• The candidate should have completed his LLB with an aggregate of 65% marks or 8 on a 10 point scale.
• The candidate must have completed either a TOEFL score of 97 or an IELTS score of 7 is mandatory for students whose official language is not English.
• The candidate must have either pursued a four-year LLB course or should have attended a three-year UG LLB with a Master’s program.

Top Colleges to become an Intellectual Property Lawyer in Canada

Intellectual Property Lawyer in Australia 

Admission Process

• The candidate must have a UG degree in Law or equivalent.
• The GMAT score required to qualify for the exam is equivalent to 660.
• The candidate should have cleared the IELTS score band that should not be less than 6.5 while the minimum marks scored in TOEFL should be 90(internet-based) and 577(paper-based)required to qualify.

Top Colleges to become an Intellectual Property Lawyer in Australia

Benefits of Career as an Intellectual Property Lawyer

The key benefits of working as an Intellectual Property Lawyer are listed below for your reference,

• Salary: A person upon completing the Intellectual Property Lawyer course will be eligible to receive annual compensation of INR 2.5 lac to INR 3 lac. The growth in the salary prospects is seen upon gaining experience in the same field and owing to the demand of Intellectual Property Lawyers the salary outlook is positive.
• Job Security: The job security for the candidates getting a job as an Intellectual Property Lawyer is high as the demand for the same is higher with the advent in the creative field. However, to make a distinct name for themselves it is really important that the person showcases his skills to the general public.
• Positive Impact of the career: The candidates while working as Intellectual Property Lawyers get an opportunity to deal with the real public and cases. This provides them a very unique experience that paves way for future growth. This experience of attending court hearings, conversing in front of a judge are some of the things that impart them with the practical knowledge of the industry.
• Unique Experience: Here the candidates have to work more on the technical background and solve cases that are creative in nature. Additionally, a lot of times it happens that the case is completely raw and the person has to use his own intellect and ideas to solve it.

Skills Required to Become Intellectual Property Lawyer 

Some of the top skills required to become an Intellectual Property Lawyer are tabulated below,

Salary of Intellectual Property Lawyers in India

Lawyers can earn a decent salary. The salary trend for an Intellectual Property Lawyer in India is given below.

Average Annual Salary 

The salary scope of the Intellectual Property Lawyer in India is very high and the candidates upon final selection can either apply for the same in a Government organization or a private company. The reason for the high salary for the aforesaid post is due to the limited personnel in the country. The average annual salary for both the Government as well as Private organization is mentioned in the table below:

Specialization Wise 

There is a lot of specialization that comes within the post and the salary is also different for all the different specializations. The salary prospect is also depended on the experience and the organization with which the candidate is working i.e. Government or Private entities.

Experience Wise

The difference between a fresher and experienced personnel is that the former has to learn a lot while the second one is well equipped with all the basic technical terms used in the profession. This is the major reason that there is a difference in salary prospects. Another thing to note here is that the candidate who is fresher requires training while an experienced one does not require any of it.