Patent Law Program

To provide our students with the opportunity to develop greater expertise and experience in patent law and to signal this important qualification to the legal marketplace, the Institute for Information Law & Policy will offer a new Patent Law Program, open to all interested students. Students will be eligible to list the qualification on their resumes and will receive a certificate issued by the Institute. Their names will be published in the program at graduation and published in other print and on-line materials of the Institute.

The Patent Law Program is open to law students who are eligible, as determined by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, as well as to those who are not eligible, to sit for the Patent Agent Exam (also called the Patent Bar Exam). Generally, to be a eligible, you must have a science or technology undergraduate degree or have fulfilled the appropriate course requirements after graduation. Patent "prosecutors" (those who file the applications) must have taken the exam. Details on the requirements are available here. Patent litigators do not have to take the exam nor must they have a science background.

Requirements

Students eligible to sit for the patent exam will be required to take:

• Introduction to Intellectual Property
• Patent Law

One of the following:

• Patent Litigation

• Patent Claim Drafting

• IP Licensing and Drafting (Patents/Biotech)

• Patent Bar Study Group*

• *The Patent Bar Study Group is a not-for-credit exam study session which meets weekly under faculty supervision.

Students not eligible to sit for the patent exam will be required to take:

• Introduction to Intellectual Property
• Patent Law

One of the following:

• Patent Litigation
• Patent Claim Drafting
• IP Licensing and Drafting (Patents/Biotech)

Students who have already taken the exam:

Students who have already taken the exam are eligible for the Patent Law Program, provided they fulfill the same requirements as exam-eligible students.

Patent Program Portal

The Patent Program Portal will collect all of the tools currently being used by the Patent Program so that you only have to visit one site. All student sin the Patent Program should take a look at the Patent Program Portal to see what tools are available to them and what events are coming up. You can visit this page by clicking here.

Alumni Mentoring

We have convened an Alumni Advisory Board comprising 20 alumni (the list is growing) who are willing to mentor students interested in patent law professions. Read about members of the Advisory Board .

How to Sign Up?

Those wishing to participate in the Patent Law Program should fill out the form and return it to Professor Beth Noveck at the Institute Office at 40 Worth Street, Suite 706. Students will be able to enroll in the Patent Bar Study Group via Banner. The Course is listed in the Fall as 82181, Friday 10am-1pm and Spring, 12274, Friday 10am-12pm.

Students who now wish to add/drop courses in order to fulfill requirements for the Patent Law Program will be permitted to do so online, without charges until September 5 for the fall semester and January 21 for the spring semester. Even if you have already taken the patent bar exam, you must sign up in order to participate.