San Francisco Intellectual Property Attorneys & Lawyers

Where are you located?

Zip Code

FIND A LAWYER

How it Works

Request Proposals

Tell us about your legal need so attorneys can prepare custom proposals. It only takes a minute and your information is strictly confidential.

Review Quotes

Our algorithm matches you with attorneys qualified to handle your legal work. You can review their proposals and schedule consultations with no obligation.

Hire Your Lawyers

When you’re ready, hire the attorney that’s right for you. Use our platform to easily collaborate online and ensure your information stays safe and secure.

Useful Resources

More San Francisco Attorneys

Nearby Attorneys

UpCounsel is a secure service for your business legal needs

Why use UpCounsel to hire a San Francisco Intellectual Property Attorney?

14 years

Average experience

You always get experienced professionals and high caliber work.

Faster

Your work gets done quickly because professionals are always available.

60%

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.

If You Need Ongoing Legal Counsel or Ad-hoc Legal Work - We Can Help!

Improve Your Legal ROI with Affordable IP Attorneys that service San Francisco, CA.

Want to Connect with Top San Francisco Intellectual Property Attorneys & Lawyers?

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."

Scott Woods

SVP & General Counsel

"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."

Sean Conway

Co-founder & CEO

"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."

Tristan Pollock

Co-founder & COO

This is the most recent 20 reviews out of 1637 reviews for Commercial Contracts attorneys in California

5.0

Review Loan Agreement

Eric Alspaugh

"Eric was quick, thorough, and patient!"

Anna O .
San Francisco, CA, 12 days ago

5.0

Assist with Other Commercial Contract Matter

Danny Minutillo

"Excellent to work with! Highly recommend."

Tess P .
Fairfax, CA, 15 days ago

4.5

Review Privacy Policy

Vincent Van Houden

"Vincent delivered exactly what I needed, but what really set him apart was the strategic thinking he brought beyond the scope of the engagement, flagging risks and opportunities I hadn't considered as an early-stage founder. He thinks like an operator, not just a lawyer billing hours. Highly recommend."

Cherryl L .
Pittsburg, CA, 17 days ago

5.0

SaaS NDA and Terms Review

David Yamaguchi

"David was a pleasure to work with. He took the time to understand our platform, a multi-tenant SaaS with proprietary ML systems, and delivered documents that actually reflected how our technology works, not generic boilerplate. He was responsive, patient, and thorough throughout multiple revisions. Highly recommend to any founder navigating early-stage legal needs."

Tatiana K .
Yorba Linda, CA, 19 days ago

5.0

SaaS IP Assignment Help

Ali Shalchi

"I needed IP Assignment for some SaaS technology to be transferred properly to a company. Ali was very knowledgable and communicated well. Will absolutely use his services in the future."

David A .
Clovis, CA, about 1 month ago

5.0

Review Terms of Service

Jack Liechtung

"Jack was great to work with. He quickly understood our Stripe-based product and delivered clear, practical redlines to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy that nailed the “software layer, not a payment processor” positioning. Fast, precise, and easy to implement—I’d happily work with him again."

Terry C .
Murrieta, CA, about 2 months ago

4.8

Consulting Agreement Review

Zvi Raskin

"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, about 2 months ago

5.0

Review Service Agreement

Scott Stram

"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, about 2 months ago

5.0

Service Agreement Drafting

Brandon Northington

"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, about 2 months ago

5.0

Review Distribution Agreement

Rebecca Stacker

"It was easy but most beneficial to get my contract reviewed."

Arun G .
San Jose, CA, 2 months ago

4.5

NDA and Invention Assignment Review

Ryan A. Woods

"I wish he would have reminded me to cap licensing income so as to prevent licensing issues."

Maria M .
Pittsburg, CA, 4 months ago

1.5

Assist with Other Commercial Contract Matter

Matthew Riordan

"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, 5 months ago

5.0

Contract Review for Startup Equity

Seth Wiener

"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, 5 months ago

5.0

Gene Rhough

"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, 6 months ago

5.0

Website Terms and Privacy

Timothy Marks, Esq.

"Tim was helpful and easy to work with"

Christopher D .
Los Angeles, CA, 7 months ago

5.0

SaaS Contract Review

Alisha Bond

"Wonderful work!"

Alyson S .
Chattanooga, TN, 7 months ago

5.0

Prenuptial Agreement Drafting

Troy Krich

"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, 7 months ago

5.0

Draft Privacy Policy

Steven Stark

"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, 8 months ago

5.0

NDA Violation Demand Letter

Ian Good

"Excellent work, quick and very responsive good to work with"

Patrick G .
Ukiah, CA, 8 months ago

5.0

New MSA

Lauri Donahue

"Lauri is fantastic. She is extremely thorough. I plan to work with her again in the future."

Allison W .
Encino, CA, 8 months ago

Trademark Likelihood of Confusion Factors Explained

9 min read

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

...

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

...

8 min read

Key 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.

...

9 min read

Key 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.

...

Find the best lawyer for your legal needs

Find a lawyer

Zip Code

Talk to a Top Lawyer for Free

San Francisco Intellectual Property Attorneys & Lawyers

How it Works

Useful Resources

More San Francisco Attorneys

Nearby Attorneys

San Francisco Intellectual Property Lawyers

Why use UpCounsel to hire a San Francisco Intellectual Property Attorney?

UpCounsel has been talked about in:

Legal Services Offered by Our On-Demand San Francisco Intellectual Property Attorneys

What Our Customers Have to Say

This is the most recent 20 reviews out of 1637 reviews for Commercial Contracts attorneys in California

Related Articles

Key Takeaways

What Are Likelihood of Confusion Factors?

Key Takeaways

Key Takeaways:

Key Takeaways

Find the best lawyer for your legal needs