Never out of style: why IP is an exciting ‘deep well’

Welcome to the latest instalment of Managing IP’s ‘Five minutes with’ series, where we learn more about IP practitioners and professionals on a personal and professional level.

This time, we meet Mine Güner, partner at Kenaroğlu Avukatlık Bürosu in Türkiye.

I usually just say, “I’m an intellectual property lawyer.” If that sounds a little too abstract, I give examples – trademarks, copyright, things like that. Interestingly, if there are no lawyers or legal people around, copyright seems to be the one everyone understands most quickly. I suspect I have Taylor Swift to thank for that! 😊

There really isn’t a typical day, which is one of the things I like about IP. Usually, I’ll have a meeting with my team, go through the work that needs to be completed, and deal with client matters and proposals. I also try to reserve at least half an hour for business development – following up on proposals, thinking about how to reach clients I would like to work with, and how we can do a better job for our existing clients. And, whenever I can, I go back to my business plan and ask myself whether I’m actually doing what I said I was going to do!

I also try to keep an eye on relevant content on LinkedIn and stay connected with my network.

At the moment, I’m working on several very interesting matters which could potentially develop into disputes, most of them involving trademarks. The gaming industry has also become a particularly busy area for me recently. I’m trying to spend more time understanding the dynamics and specific needs of gaming companies, because I think knowing the client’s industry is just as important as knowing the law.

Definitely juggling multiple things. I One of the biggest skills being an IP lawyer teaches you is the ability to manage dozens of different tasks in a single day. That multi-functionality can be exhausting at times, but if you manage it well, it can also make you incredibly efficient.

And there is always something unexpected coming in – which brings both the challenge and the excitement!

One of the things I enjoy most is getting to know a new client and, particularly with brands, understanding their needs, their dynamics and their story. Sometimes you find yourself learning about incredibly niche industries and brands that you would probably never come across outside your work as an IP lawyer, and I really enjoy that.

The most stressful part is probably the fact that you never quite know what the day is going to bring. If you work in projects or transactions, you generally have some idea of when a matter is going to start and finish. In IP, you can wake up one morning and find yourself dealing with an injunction that you had absolutely no idea was coming the night before!

I would say good time management, curiosity and being open to new developments, as well as the ability to think practically and commercially. And, importantly, you need to really understand your client’s industry. Knowing the law is a given, but understanding how that law fits into the client’s actual business is what makes the advice valuable.

Probably that IP is a very narrow field. In reality, trademarks, patents, copyright and designs are each worlds of their own, and many IP lawyers specialise deeply in just one of them.

Take copyright alone: you can be dealing with film, music, fine arts, technology, literature and so many other areas. So I find it quite surprising when people think IP is a limited field. It’s actually a very deep well – and the more you learn, the more there is to discover.

I’m very inspired by people who can adapt quickly to their surroundings, and by people who are genuinely self-motivated and never stop learning. I particularly admire self-starters – people who don’t wait for someone to give them an opportunity, but instead take the initiative and ask themselves, “How can I do this differently? How can I make this better?”

I think that kind of curiosity and initiative is incredibly valuable.

I think I would be a writer. Writing has always been something that keeps me grounded and energised. At one point, I had a blog where I wrote about things like music, humour, the 1990s – basically whatever was on my mind. It was completely unrelated to law, but I found it incredibly motivating.

So perhaps, in another life, I’d be writing a book instead of IP-related advice.

I would tell myself not to panic about the future so much and to enjoy the days more. I had some wonderful opportunities when I was younger, but I spent a lot of time worrying about whether I was doing the right thing or whether I was where I was supposed to be.

“After all, tomorrow is another day.” I’m a big ‘Gone with the Wind’ fan, so I suppose that line was bound to become my motto at some point!