Community Highlights: Meet Karima Fathi Gulick of Innovent Law

Today we’d like to introduce you to Karima Fathi Gulick.

Hi Karima, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’ve always been curious about how things work. As a little girl, I was constantly taking apart speakerphones and remote controls just to see what was inside. I was especially fascinated by flight; anything that defied gravity felt magical to me.
That curiosity led me to study aerospace engineering, with dreams of working in space exploration. But as an international student, those doors were largely closed to me. So I pivoted into commercial aviation and spent eight years as an engineer; designing pilot controls, working on aircraft engines, and building in-flight entertainment systems.
The work was fine, but I felt stuck. I knew I had more range than the role allowed. Around that time, I joined an innovation council at work and discovered the patent world. I was also volunteering with Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, and those experiences shifted something in me. I didn’t just want to help build impressive things; I wanted my work to matter in a more human way.
So I went to law school at night while working full time as an engineer. After passing the bar, I started Innovent Law in 2017 with $500 in the business account and a three-month runway. I built the website myself, reached out to everyone I knew, and grew from there.
Building my own firm changed everything. It showed me that work doesn’t have to be miserable to be successful. I now run an international IP practice, travel for fun, and launching an AI bot teaching business owners IP and legal fundamentals.
At the core of it all is a belief I’ve learned the hard way: when people feel secure in their work; legally and emotionally; they build better businesses and better lives.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Not at all. The first major struggle was having my dream shut down before it started. I studied aerospace engineering to work in space exploration, but as an international student, those doors were closed to me.
Then came years of feeling stuck in engineering. Leaving felt like failure; I had invested so much time and money. But it went deeper. As one of very few women in engineering, I carried a chip on my shoulder. I felt like I had something to prove, and leaving felt like abandoning that responsibility.
I also had to unlearn the idea that success has to look a certain way. For years, I was chasing titles; senior engineer, lead engineer, manager; thinking those milestones meant something. At the end of the day, no one cares. Letting go of traditional definitions of prestige and stability wasn’t easy, but it was necessary.
Starting the firm brought new challenges; building everything from scratch on a tight budget, learning hard lessons about hiring. I had to redefine success on my own terms.
Every struggle taught me something essential. The hardest pivots led to the most meaningful growth.

As you know, we’re big fans of Innovent Law . For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Innovent Law is an intellectual property firm specializing in intellectual property and specifically patents, and trademarks. We work primarily with entrepreneurs, founders, and creatives; people who believe deeply in their mission and are building something meaningful.

At its core, my work is about helping people build businesses that actually support their lives. We focus on three things: patent filings and prosecution, trademark registration and protection, and IP strategy and portfolio development. Our goal isn’t just protection for protection’s sake. We help clients build IP portfolios they can actually monetize; assets they can leverage for funding, licensing, franchising, or use as collateral for loans.

I love watching a client take a single idea and grow it into a conglomerate; one of our clients started with a kids’ brand, expanded into multiple product lines, landed book deals, and eventually TV opportunities. That trajectory is possible when IP is treated as a strategic asset from the beginning.

What sets us apart is how we work. We sit down, listen to each client’s vision, understand their “why,” and build an IP strategy around who they are; not a one-size-fits-all approach. We offer concierge-level service: every inquiry answered in a timely manner, action taken on cases right away. Clients feel like we genuinely have their back.

I don’t approach law in a vacuum. I’m an engineer by training, a lawyer by profession, and a founder myself. That helps me deeply understand inventions and write patents that are hard to design around. But more than that, I know what it’s like to build something from nothing.

What I’m most proud of is creating a firm built around excellence, care, and quality; and seeing our clients’ products out in the world, knowing we helped protect what they built. Those values are also what our team is built around. We’re small but mighty. My teammates take real ownership. They anticipate needs, come up with great solutions, and genuinely invest in our clients’ success. When I see them take pride in their work and grow in ways they didn’t think possible, it reminds me why I built this firm in the first place. Each teammate’s growth (whether it be professional or personal) is the firm’s growth; and watching that unfold has been one of the most rewarding parts of this journey.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Self-trust; curiosity and the willingness to evolve. I’ve learned to trust my inner compass even when it leads me away from what looks successful on paper. That meant leaving a prestigious engineering career when it no longer fit, questioning traditional definitions of success, and rebuilding in a way that aligned with how I actually wanted to live and work.

That self-trust has shown up at every major turning point. Leaving engineering felt like failure at the time; especially as one of few women in the field. Starting a firm on a tight budget and runway felt reckless. But I’ve learned that the ability to adapt, to let go of what’s not working and move toward what is, has been more valuable than any credential or title.

I’ve always been curious; someone who needs to understand how things work. That curiosity led me from aerospace to law to entrepreneurship. But curiosity without self-trust keeps you stuck. You have to be willing to act on what you discover about yourself, even when it means walking away from paths others would hold onto.

That self-trust has allowed me to take thoughtful risks and build something that feels both sustainable and deeply fulfilling; not just impressive from the outside.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://innoventlaw.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepatentlawyer
• LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/thepatentlady/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@InnoventLaw