Above all us, the absolutely positively first thing that you want to do when you are ready to apply for trademark or patent protection is to hire a lawyer. Without a patent lawyer on hand, you will most certainly get drowned out in the legalities of the application process. Even if you are just thinking about possibly putting something on the market that you want trademarked, do yourself a favor and get an attorney.- After you find the right lawyer, the first thing that you want to do is make sure that you are dealing with a patent or trademark situation. Patents cover a new, innovative product and the physical elements of that product. Trademarks protect words, phrases, and symbols from use by other companies. Basically, trademarks protect other companies from utilizing the same language