If one is interested in going to college for patent law what college would be good for that?
I’ve actually heard something about this, back a few years, via a lawyer local to my college. (I want to say it was in my General Engineering class, so 5 years back.)
It was suggested to get an engineering degree/education, then go into the law field, if you want to go into patent law. I forget the exact reasoning, but I think it had something to do with being able to look at and understand designs.
(It’s to be noted that my college is an engineering college; the closest we get to law is, I think, a focus on pre-law in the Interdisciplinary Science major.)
Ok, thank you.
Go speak with your school’s guidance counselors. They have the tools and expertise to guide you in finding schools that might be a good fit for you.
As a registered patent attorney I can help you out here. To become elligible to sit for the patent bar exam you need to receive a science degree which is recognized by the US Patent office. Page 6 of this document
http://www.uspto.gov/ip/boards/oed/grb.pdf
You can receive this degree from most any 4 year college. Once you have your elligible degree in hand you then decide if you want to take the patent bar exam at this time and become a “patent agent” or if you want to proceed to law school.
A patent agent is registered to practice “patent law” before the US Patent Office but is not an attorney, that is an Agent cannot give “legal advice” to their clients.
If you want to attend law school, this is where the school name makes more of a difference than your undergrad school. Unfortunately, many law firms hire based on what law school you attended vs. how well you did etc.
If you have more questions, please feel free to ask.
Kelly
To get some exposure to patent law, you should look into the First Future Innovator Award being offered this year.
Kelly