Re: Beinga a patent lawyer....Patent Bar, LLM?

More | Report Post

On 3/28/05, Connie wrote:
> I have been a praticing attorney since October 2004 in a
> small general practice firm but I want to make the switch
> to IP law. I took 2 IP courses in law scool. I also
> wrote my student law review note on IP and got an LLM in
> international law focusing on International IP. I have an
> undergraduate minor in chemistry and would probably have
> to take a few more courses to be eligible for the patent
> bar. The problem is that I have only had 2 courses in
> IP. Should I get an LLM in IP? How do I get into the
> field? My school was not big on IP so I dont know the
> right path.

I think you've had enough coursework. Once you take and pass
the patent bar exam, it is crucial that you get practical
experience. Practicing IP law is different from getting the
coursework.

By the way, I think that you need to take quite a few more
chemistry courses, if memory serves me. I took the patent bar
exam with a bachelor's in chemistry, so I haven't paid keen
attention to the requirements, but I do think it's a fair
number of credits.

The key question is what aspect of IP you would like to focus
on. Patents? If so, we generally look for someone with at
least an undergraduate degree in a technical specialty.
Copyrights? Trademarks? You can always "study up" each on
the job. There are good treatises out there that can help you
when you are in (IP) practice: Nimmer on Copyright, McCarthy
on Trademarks.

Hopefully, you can get a more experienced IP attorney to
mentor you. It's quintessential to have a mentor in the
process. For patents, the learning curve is over one year.
For copyrights and trademarks, the learning curve is less, but
it helps to have someone who can guide you.

P.S. You can e-mail me if you'd like.