The importance of IP reaches far beyond historically in the past technical industries for several reasons. While not a brand spanking new idea by any stretch (the first U.S. patent was issued in 1790), adequate patent protection has exploded to become of the single most important obligations facing American corporations. With this alter in emphasis has also come the demand for more efficient and cost-effective legal representation for IP related services. Plenty of law firms that used to autonomously dictate exactly how much an inventor or corporation would pay for their services are now finding themselves in a bidding war for the privilege of representing high-dollar clients. Additionally, plenty of corporations have expanded their in-house legal departments to employ full-time IP attorneys and support staff, thereby eliminating the traditional law firm markup. Yet even with these aggressive cost-cutting tactics, U.S. corporations are still looking to economize expensive IP activity in any way feasible.

To some organizations, namely global corporations like Microsoft and General Electric, supplementing patent operations, these companies are already comfortable dealing with the difficulties of offshore operation, and have brilliant infrastructures currently in place to support the implementation of new processes. To most organizations (including law firms), however, sending patent work abroad is a radical departure from what is thought about acceptable practice. The apprehension of these organizations is unquestionable and their concerns are perfectly well-founded; however, the barriers are not insurmountable and ought to be properly understood before any final decisions are made.
Patent Outsourcing Ethical Considerations
The most obtrusive barrier stopping universal acceptance of patent outsourcing is grounded in ethical considerations. While not always purely legal in nature, patent-related work ought to always be thought about legal because at the most essential level, patents are in fact legal instruments. Arguably, all activity related to the preparation, prosecution, maintenance, and litigation of patents is legal activity in some capacity, because such activity will ultimately affect the applicants intellectual property rights. As such, attorneys who are involved with outsourcing patent work must be diligent in ensuring ethical obligations are maintained at all times.