A Trade Mark Attorney is a person, usually with a legal background, who has completed the necessary studies in the law and practice of trade marks, and has been entered on the Register of Trade Mark Agents.
The main functions of a Trade Mark Attorney are:

• To conduct searches through records of prior registered and pending applications to ensure that a particular trade mark is free for use and/or registration.

• To prepare and file trade mark applications on a client’s behalf;

• To deal with the different formalities of the various Patent Offices throughout the world;

• To handle any objections or requirements raised by those Offices;

• To obtain the registration of trade marks;

• To advise on the validity of existing trade mark registrations;

• To advise on the licensing and assignment of trade marks;

• To consider cases of infringement of trade marks, and, if necessary, to advise in the course of trade mark litigation in the Courts.

Most Trade Mark Attorneys in the Republic of Ireland are members of APTMA and are subject to a code of professional conduct. A trade mark owner may be assured that any information passed to a member of APTMA will be treated in the strictest confidence.