Today I spent a few hours with Mr. Ed Timberlake, a trademark and copyright consultant for Sotomayor Inc. Mr. Timberlake and I talked about what a Trademark and Copyright attorney does and what their impacts are. We met in RTP at “The Frontier” where Mr. Timberlake works. We started talking about the differences between a patent lawyer and a trademark lawyer, and why they are both important, but do different things. He told me there is a common misconception when referring to the USPTO; those who work in patents are different than those who work in trademarks. They fall under the association of “USPTO”, but function as two separate entities. He previously worked in D.C., much like Mr. Sotomayor, and he worked as an examiner for the USPTO. We discussed what a trademark actually is, and what it functions as. I learned so much more about IP law from Mr. Timberlake and I am excited to learn even more tomorrow!