Trademarks, patents, and copyrights are different types of intellectual property. The USPTO grants patents and registers trademarks.Learn how to get legal help with issues involving copyright, trademark, and patents in central Florida. The purpose of this guide is to provide you with basic information about filing a utility patent application with the USPTO. A patent examiner at the US Patent and Trademark Office will help you with the application, but USPTO employees cannot give legal advice. It includes patent law, trademark law, copyright law, trade secret law and unfair competition law. Lawyer may charge a fee for handling and submitting documents, but they may not offer advice of a legal nature. That would be unlicensed practice of law. A provisional patent application will allow you up to one year to figure out what, if anything, you want to do as far as patent protection. Identity verification is mandatory for USPTO.