Many individuals think intellectual property lawyers such as those that can be found online, practice in all areas of their legal field, but the truth is that trademark law and and other forms of intellectual property law are very different. Intellectual property usually covers a specific group of industries and the term of effective protection is set on a different schedule from trademark law. Trademark law is essentially a subset of general intellectual property law. (To learn more about intellectual property law see www.business.gov.au/BusinessTopics/Intellectualproperty/pages/default.aspx)

Trademark attorneys are used when a company is attempting to register a specific symbol as a company advertising mark. The rules of registration differ greatly for other intellectual property types such as books, audio, and video copyrights. Identification of a registered trademark is limited as to what that symbol may be and the true legal protection is in the distinguishing mark of registration.