Six practice areas. One attorney personally accountable for every matter — from patent drafting and trademark prosecution through copyright, trade secret advisory, and licensing strategy.
Utility and design patent applications drafted with the technical depth and claim architecture that robotics, telecommunications, RF, and defense electronics inventions demand. Provisional and non-provisional applications handled across the full prosecution lifecycle. Every application is handled personally — from the initial invention disclosure through the full prosecution lifecycle to issuance — with the judgment of an engineer who has practiced in these fields and a practitioner who has prosecuted hundreds of applications before the USPTO.
Unlike firms that assign your matter to a junior associate after the first client call, Instinctively IP maintains full attorney-level engagement from disclosure to grant. That continuity matters — the attorney who understands your invention at the engineering level is also the one writing your responses to office actions and making the strategic arguments that shape your final claim scope.
Particularly well-suited for startups filing before a funding round, individual inventors protecting a first application, and growth-stage companies expanding an existing portfolio into new technical areas.
A patent portfolio is not just a collection of issued applications — it is a strategic business asset that should be deliberately designed, sequenced, and maintained to create competitive advantage. Instinctively IP brings an engineering understanding of your technology roadmap and an economic understanding of your market to build a portfolio that performs.
Portfolio strategy is particularly valuable for startups heading into Series A or B rounds where a credible IP position strengthens the investor narrative, growth companies preparing for acquisition or licensing discussions, and individual inventors building toward a monetization event.
The MS in Finance & Economics ensures that portfolio recommendations are grounded in economic reasoning — not just legal habit — so every filing decision connects to a clear business purpose.
Your brand identity — firm name, product names, logos, and taglines — is an IP asset that deserves the same rigorous protection as your technical inventions. Instinctively IP handles the full trademark prosecution lifecycle before the USPTO, from initial clearance searches through registration and beyond, with the same personal accountability applied to every patent matter.
Particularly relevant for technology startups naming new products or platforms who need to confirm their brand is available and protectable before going to market. Also valuable for growth-stage companies formalizing brand protection as they scale into new markets or prepare for licensing discussions where brand ownership is part of the deal.
Trademark protection is often overlooked until a conflict arises — at which point the cost of remediation far exceeds the cost of doing it right at the outset.
Copyright registration with the U.S. Copyright Office establishes the public record of ownership and the legal foundation for enforcement. For technology companies, it is often an underutilized layer of protection. Software source code, technical documentation, training datasets, UI designs, and AI-generated works all carry copyright protection that registration makes enforceable in federal court.
Particularly valuable for AI and software companies building platforms where the code itself is a competitive differentiator, and for companies whose technical documentation or proprietary data compilations represent significant investment.
With the rapid expansion of AI-generated content in 2025 and 2026, copyright registration strategy for AI-assisted works has become an increasingly important and rapidly evolving area — one that benefits from counsel with a genuine technical understanding of how AI systems create and modify content.
Not every valuable innovation should be — or can be — patented. Trade secret protection is often the right strategy for algorithms, manufacturing processes, customer data, pricing models, and proprietary methodologies that derive competitive value from remaining confidential and where disclosure through patent prosecution would do more harm than good.
Instinctively IP advises on identifying what qualifies for trade secret protection, implementing the reasonable measures required to maintain that status under the Defend Trade Secrets Act, and structuring the agreements and internal policies that prevent inadvertent disclosure through employees, contractors, and commercial relationships.
Particularly valuable for AI companies protecting training methodologies, robotics companies protecting motion planning algorithms, and any technology company where the "secret sauce" is more valuable kept confidential than disclosed through a patent application.
A patent portfolio creates no revenue by itself. Licensing and monetization strategy is what converts issued patents into sustainable business value — and doing it well requires understanding both the legal structure of licensing agreements and the economic dynamics of the markets in which your IP operates. Instinctively IP brings both, with an MS in Finance & Economics and a Certified Licensing Professional (CLP) credential informing the strategic analysis that underpins every licensing engagement.
Particularly valuable for growth-stage companies building licensing programs, individual inventors seeking to monetize issued patents, and companies evaluating whether to license, sell, or enforce their IP against infringers.
The MS in Finance & Economics and the Certified Licensing Professional (CLP) credential — an internationally recognized certification in licensing and technology transfer awarded by Certified Licensing Professionals, Inc. — mean licensing recommendations are grounded in genuine economic valuation and commercial expertise: royalty rates, deal structure, and program design that reflect what the market will bear and what your portfolio is actually worth, not just standard form agreements.
Initial consultations are complimentary, one hour, and available by video or phone. The consultation is a general discussion of your invention — not a deep technical review or formal legal advice session — and does not create an attorney-client relationship.