Need engineering for patent law?

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>I was just wondering if you need an engineering degree for patent law? Or a scientific mind?</p>

2

<p>It probably helps to understand the mindset of engineers, chemists or others who seek the advice of a patent or intellectual property attorney. Don't know if you have to go as far as an undergraduate degree in engineering, chemistry or computer science, but it sure seems to help.</p>

<p>Check the following bios of some patent attorneys or do your own search of "patent attorney" and "biography" ...</p>

<p>BSE in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering cum laude at Princeton
<a href="http://patentlaw.typepad.com/about.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://patentlaw.typepad.com/about.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>University of South Florida - Electrical Engineering
<a href="http://colitz.com/site/bio.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://colitz.com/site/bio.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>BS in Mechanical Engineering at UMass
<a href="http://www.brownrudnick.com/bio/bio.asp?ID=133%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.brownrudnick.com/bio/bio.asp?ID=133&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>BS in Computer Science & Geology - SUNY Stony Brook
<a href="http://www.hklaw.com/Biographies/Bio.asp?ID=55046%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.hklaw.com/Biographies/Bio.asp?ID=55046&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>BS in Mechanical Engineering summa cum laude at UMich
<a href="http://www.dryjapat.com/bio.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dryjapat.com/bio.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

3

<p>You don't need an engineering degree. But...</p>

<p>If you want to sit for the patent bar, you need a science or engineering degree (that the USPTO recognizes as sufficiently technical), or you need to have an appropriate amount of science (chem & physics) credits.
*The patent bar is required for patent prosecution.<br>
*Other forms of patent law - counseling, licensing, and litigation - do not require a technical degree.
*As always, what you *need to do something can be very different from what employers will want to see. It will be much eaiser to get a job as a patent attorney with a technical background than without one. Also, depending on the field, the market, and other factors, you may essentially need an advanced degree to be a patent attorney.</p>