TCP Law, PLLC is a New York-based solo practice that specializes exclusively in intellectual property law, covering trademarks, copyrights, patents, and IP enforcement. The firm works with three primary types of clients: businesses seeking to protect their brand reputation and competitive advantages, inventors looking to secure exclusive rights to their innovations, and creators protecting original works such as songs, films, photographs, and written content. TCP Law serves clients throughout the United States and internationally, and also assists clients who have been accused of infringing someone else's intellectual property rights. Attorney John Laurence is personally involved in every client matter.

Each form of intellectual property protects something distinct: trademarks protect the goodwill a brand develops through the sale of goods and services under its defined marks; patents protect either the functional elements of a claimed invention or the ornamental elements of a manufactured article; and copyrights protect the creative elements of original works fixed in a tangible form, such as a book, recording, or film. Many businesses and creators need more than one form of protection simultaneously — for example, a product company may need a patent for its invention, a trademark for its brand name, and a copyright for its marketing content. Understanding which combination best fits your current needs and future goals is the starting point of any sound IP strategy, and TCP Law offers free introductory consultations to help you map that out.

John Laurence is the founder and owner of TCP Law, PLLC, and is personally involved in all client matters. He began his career as an engineer in the media industry, having earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from New York University Tandon School of Engineering — a technical foundation that directly informs his ability to understand and prosecute complex inventions. He later earned his J.D. from New York Law School and his LLM in Intellectual Property and Technology Law from Fordham University Law School. This combination of engineering experience and specialized legal training means he engages with clients' IP needs at both a technical and strategic level, rather than treating them as purely legal abstractions.

No — while TCP Law is headquartered in New York City, the firm works with clients throughout the United States and internationally. Federal intellectual property matters, including USPTO trademark and patent prosecution and copyright registration with the U.S. Copyright Office, are national in scope and do not require an attorney to be licensed in a client's home state. Attorney Laurence is also admitted to the Southern District of New York (SDNY), one of the country's most prominent federal courts for commercial and IP matters. Whether you are based in New York or across the country, TCP Law is equipped to handle your federal IP needs.

TCP Law provides several free online IP tools directly on its website to help clients and prospective clients get oriented before engaging legal counsel. These include a Trademark Maintenance Calculator (to track critical maintenance deadlines for registered marks), a Trademark Knockout Search (a preliminary search tool to assess whether a proposed mark faces obvious conflicts), a Patent Term Calculator (to determine the remaining term of a patent), and an AI-powered Patent Search tool. The firm also offers downloadable Trademark Process and Patent Process infographics, as well as a library of articles on IP topics. These resources are designed to help you understand your options — and TCP Law also offers a free introductory consultation to discuss your specific situation in depth.

TCP Law recognizes that the right IP strategy depends heavily on who you are and what you are trying to protect. For businesses, the focus is often on using trademarks to develop and safeguard brand identity, copyrights to protect original publications, and patents to secure technological developments and product designs — along with evaluating and responding to infringement claims made by others. For inventors, the emphasis is typically on utility patents (protecting functional elements of a product or process) and design patents (protecting ornamental aspects of a manufactured article). For creators — artists, musicians, filmmakers, writers — copyright registration is the primary vehicle, creating a public record of authorship, enabling infringement claims, and establishing eligibility for statutory damages. TCP Law tailors its approach to each client's role and goals.

A solo practice means that attorney John Laurence personally handles all client matters — you are not passed off to a junior associate or paralegal after an intake call. This is a feature, not a limitation: clients get direct access to an attorney with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, a J.D., and an LLM in IP and Technology Law, on every aspect of their matter. The firm's testimonials reflect exactly this — clients highlight John's personal availability, attention to detail, patience, and responsiveness, including being reached on a holiday weekend. For the focused IP needs of businesses, inventors, and creators, a specialized boutique practice with direct attorney access often delivers better results and communication than a large firm where senior attorneys are less accessible.

Yes — in addition to helping clients protect and register their own IP, TCP Law also assists clients who have been accused of infringing another party's intellectual property rights. This includes evaluating the strength and validity of infringement claims made against you, advising on response strategies to cease and desist letters, and defending your position in USPTO proceedings or federal litigation. Being accused of infringement — even wrongly — can carry significant business and legal risk, and having an IP attorney with both engineering and legal expertise assess the claim is an important first step. TCP Law offers a free introductory consultation to help you understand your exposure and your options.

Client testimonials on the TCP Law homepage reflect consistent themes: deep subject matter knowledge, personal availability, clear communication, and reasonable fees. Clients include a professional photographer who needed copyright counsel, the founder of a mobile technology company (The Cloak Phone) who worked with John on multiple trademarks and patents, a filmmaker who received help with copyright registration, and the owners of EZ Reach Apparel who worked on both patent and trademark matters. One client described John as a "Diamond in the ruff" find from a first Google search; another highlighted that he was immediately available on a holiday weekend. These are the kinds of real-world outcomes — not just credentials — that distinguish a practiced IP attorney from a generalist.

Yes — and it is one of the most costly myths in IP law. Trademark rights, for instance, are built on priority of use and registration: the first party to register a mark generally has nationwide rights, regardless of who had the idea first. Waiting until your brand is established before filing a trademark application means operating for months or years with unprotected brand equity, and potentially discovering a conflict only after you have invested heavily in marketing and customer recognition. Similarly, patent rights can be forfeited if you publicly disclose an invention before filing, due to statutory time limits under U.S. patent law. The most effective IP strategies are built early — at the brand-naming or invention stage — not as an afterthought. TCP Law's free introductory consultation is specifically designed to help businesses, inventors, and creators assess their IP needs before problems arise.