San Francisco Intellectual Property Attorneys & Lawyers
How it Works

Seth Wiener
Ross Brandborg

Lauri Donahue
Jake Siciliano

David Yamaguchi
Brig Ricks

Michael Wieser
Neil Park

Troy Krich

Anthony Whittington, Jd/Mba
San Francisco Intellectual Property Lawyers
Why use UpCounsel to hire a San Francisco Intellectual Property Attorney?
Average experience
You always get experienced professionals and high caliber work.
Faster
Your work gets done quickly because professionals are always available.
More cost effective
We use technology to cut traditional overhead and save you thousands.
UpCounsel has been talked about in:
Legal Services Offered by Our On-Demand San Francisco Intellectual Property Attorneys
Our San Francisco intellectual property attorneys & lawyers can help you secure and protect your company-s intellectual property. Whether you are an entrepreneur, artist, author, engineer, manager, or individual - the IP attorneys on UpCounsel have you covered.
There are four common areas of intellectual property, which all protect different things such as: copyrights, trademarks, patents, and trade secrets. Additionally, licensing is a popular enough specialization of IP that warrants mentioning.
Our San Francisco IP attorneys that specialize in licensing can help you draft contracts that grant permission to another party to do something with an otherwise protected work or product. A license can grant the right to reproduce the work by: distributed copy of the work to others by rental, sale, or lease, or preparing derivative works using protected expression from the original work, and/or displaying the work.
Improve Your Legal ROI with Affordable IP Attorneys that service San Francisco, CA.
What Our Customers Have to Say
"UpCounsel gives me access to big-firm lawyers minus the big-firm price tag. I work with several attorneys on the platform and there are never surprises...I always receive quality legal work at competitive rates that larger firms simply cannot match."
"Every startup needs to know about UpCounsel. We found great attorneys at great prices and were able to focus our resources on improving our business instead of paying legal bills."
"Before UpCounsel it was hard for us to find the right lawyer with the right expertise for our business. UpCounsel solves those problems by being more affordable and helping us find the right lawyer in no time."
This is the most recent 20 reviews out of 1628 reviews for Commercial Contracts attorneys in California
Consulting Agreement Review
"Zvi was great. HIs very knowledgeable in contract law around consulting and confidentiality agreements. His experience with IP and tech industry is very helpful if you are in those arenas. HIs approach is very personable making him very easy to work with. A little loose with deadlines. Like his flat fee structure with the understanding that he would see the matter through and not constantly adding hours for every revision and rebuttal to a counterparty revision. I will use him again."
Gregory G
.
Belmont,
CA,
3 days ago
Review Service Agreement
"Scott was exceptional to work with. He quickly developed an understanding of our unique business and translated that into a comprehensive, well structured MSA. His work was thorough, and he was always willing to walk through questions and provide clear, practical guidance."
Philip C
.
San Anselmo,
CA,
4 days ago
Service Agreement Drafting
"Brandon was great to work with. He helped us create a service agreement and liability waiver for our business and was very responsive throughout the process. He took the time to revise and streamline the document based on our feedback and made sure the important protections were included. The final agreement is clear, professional, and exactly what we needed for our business. I appreciate his help and definitely recommend him."
Shamel G
.
Lake Elsinore,
CA,
12 days ago
Review Distribution Agreement
"It was easy but most beneficial to get my contract reviewed."
Arun G
.
San Jose,
CA,
26 days ago
Advertising Compliance Review
"Eric provided excellent guidance on a complex regulatory gray area involving charitable solicitation laws for a for-profit youth sports business. He delivered thorough legal analysis with specific statute citations, ready-to-use document templates, and practical advice that balanced compliance with operational reality. Fast turnaround and clear communication throughout. Highly recommend for business compliance matters."
Matt M
.
Huntington Beach,
CA,
about 1 month ago
LOI and Asset Purchase Review
"David was so helpful and a pleasure to work with! He helped me review a contract very quickly and is fairly priced. I’d recommend working with him!"
Katherine M
.
San Clemente,
CA,
about 2 months ago
NDA and Invention Assignment Review
"I wish he would have reminded me to cap licensing income so as to prevent licensing issues."
Maria M
.
Pittsburg,
CA,
3 months ago
Assist with Other Commercial Contract Matter
"Mr. Riordan did not provide the services he promised. The job I posted was to sign a document and he promised to deliver that. What he delivered was a letter stating that he can not sign the document because he is does not practice law in California. The money that I paid him was a complete waste and feel misled. I communicated that with him and asked for a refund but of course he denied it."
Efecan A
.
Los Angeles,
CA,
3 months ago
Contract Review for Startup Equity
"Seth was quick to respond to both my proposal and messages. He's friendly, kinda, and was a pleasure to work with. I'd reach out to him again if/when another needs pop up on my side!"
Lauren B
.
Ojai,
CA,
4 months ago
Privacy Policy
"I asked Gene to do a second pass at a Privacy Policy he drafted for me for my app, based on updated guidance for developers from the App store and Google Play, and he graciously agreed. I appreciate his thoughtfulness and attention to detail, always. I plan to continue to hire him in the future as the needs for my startup continue to evolve."
Lisa A
.
Los Angeles,
CA,
4 months ago
Website Terms and Privacy
"Tim was helpful and easy to work with"
Christopher D
.
Los Angeles,
CA,
5 months ago
SaaS Contract Review
"Wonderful work!"
Alyson S
.
Chattanooga,
TN,
5 months ago
Prenuptial Agreement Drafting
"Troy did an excellent job with our pre-nup. We needed something simple and wanted to avoid the cost that came with hiring privately from a firm. We had a short period of time to put things together, and Troy was organized, efficient, and responsive. 10/10, would absolutely use his services again!"
Melissa S
.
El Granada,
CA,
6 months ago
Draft Privacy Policy
"Steve did a fantastic job creating our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. In just a couple of days, he was able to pull together two very comprehensive documents that cover all the key areas we needed for launch! I’ll be reaching out for any future updates to our docs."
Jose R
.
Ontario,
CA,
6 months ago
NDA Violation Demand Letter
"Excellent work, quick and very responsive good to work with"
Patrick G
.
Ukiah,
CA,
6 months ago
New MSA
"Lauri is fantastic. She is extremely thorough. I plan to work with her again in the future."
Allison W
.
Encino,
CA,
7 months ago
Non-Disclosure Agreement (Commercial)
"Best attorney at contracts and negotiations, highly recommend!"
Alex S
.
Turlock,
CA,
7 months ago
Drafting Customer Contract Template for Online Health Education Programs
"Top notch expertise related to drafting contracts for our health tech start-up company. Smart, efficient, and down-to-earth"
Leslie R
.
Los Angeles,
CA,
9 months ago
Review Lien
"Sagar was very prompt and knowledgeable in his responses. I would 100% recommend!"
Kiran M
.
Los Angeles,
CA,
9 months ago
Review Business Consulting Agreement
"Excellent attorney. Timely, professional, knowledgeable."
Natalie G
.
Oak Park,
CA,
9 months ago
Related Articles
Key Takeaways
- The USPTO and courts use multi-factor tests (Polaroid, DuPont, and Lapp) to assess trademark confusion risk.
- The strength and distinctiveness of a trademark significantly affect protection.
- Actual confusion isn’t required but can strongly support a claim.
- Intent, marketing overlap, and buyer sophistication influence the decision.
- Businesses can reduce confusion risk through strategic branding and searches.
What Are Likelihood of Confusion Factors?
Likelihood of confusion factors are the legal standards used to determine whether trademark infringement has occurred. The factors are also used as one of several tests conducted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to determine whether a trademark application is approved.
The likelihood of confusion test is used to decide if a trademark is likely to be confused with another trademark
...
Read MoreSuggestive Trademark Examples and Legal Insights
- 11 min read
Key Takeaways
- A suggestive trademark hints at the nature of a product or service, requiring imagination to make the connection.
- These marks are inherently distinctive and eligible for protection without proving secondary meaning.
- Examples include Netflix (suggests movies via the internet) and Greyhound (suggests speed and travel).
- They are stronger than descriptive marks but not as strong as arbitrary or fanciful marks.
- Courts assess “mental leap” and “competitor necessity” when distinguishing suggestive from descriptive marks.
- Properly crafted suggestive
...
Read MoreKey Takeaways
- There is no single worldwide patent; protection is achieved by filing national or regional patents.
- An international patent application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) simplifies filing in over 150 countries, providing a unified procedure before entering national phases.
- Applicants gain up to 30 months from their initial filing date to decide where to pursue protection.
- Common mistakes include assuming a PCT itself grants rights or missing strict filing deadlines.
- Costs vary widely, often $4,000–$5,000 initially, plus thousands more per country for national phase entry.
...
Read MoreKey Takeaways:
- Trademark protection helps prevent unauthorized use and infringement.
- Registration with the USPTO offers strong legal benefits, but enforcement is the owner’s responsibility.
- Choosing a unique, creative trademark strengthens legal standing.
- Maintaining a trademark includes periodic renewal and monitoring for misuse.
- Both state and federal laws govern trademark protection, with the Lanham Act central to federal protections.
- Different types of trademarks (fanciful, arbitrary, descriptive) impact the level of protection. <
...
Read More