Patent Attorneys?

Career Opportunities & Internships
1

<p>I heard patent attorneys make a lot of money and do some interesting work.
Any thoughts?</p>

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<p>x2 - 10 char</p>

3

<p>Well, obviously you need to go to law school, and you have to take the bar and also the patent bar in order to practice before the USPTO. Usually practicing before the USPTO is called patent prosecution, though you're not actually prosecuting anyone. It's the term given for the process of applying for and getting a patent. It involves a good amount of litigation as well as probably paperwork. Most patent lawyers have a technical background or degree (i.e. science, engineering, etc.). Patent lawyers are kind of in short supply, and a lot of the time, you can pretty much write your own ticket into top law firms. It's a good field of law to be in, if you can hack it in those science classes in undergrad. Although trademark lawyers also practice before the USPTO, they do NOT need to take a separate bar exam.</p>

<p>You can actually go about practicing patent law before the USPTO WITHOUT going to law school; you just need to past the Patent Bar. They are called patent AGENTS. Trademark lawyers, however, MUST go to law school.</p>

<p>Patent</a> prosecution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia </p>

<p>Any questions?</p>

4

<p>Thanks-</p>

<p>On second thought, maybe patent law is not for me if deals mostly with technical expertise...definitely not one of my interests or strengths.</p>

5

<p>Actually it doesn't necessarily mostly deal with technical expertise. Your job is to take your client's product, get the proper legal paperwork done, and to convince the USPTO that your client's product has never been patented before and that it's a new product whose patent should go to your client. While having a technical degree may help you, I'm not sure it's a prerequisite. Many patent lawyers have those technical degrees, but I don't think it's completely necessary. You may be dealing with a lot of technical stuff, but you're still a lawyer. Your primary job will still be legal counsel.</p>

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<p>Yes, science is required.</p>

<p><a href=“Becoming a Patent Attorney - Law School - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/law-school/1437231-becoming-a-patent-attorney.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://www.uspto.gov/ip/boards/oed/exam/OED_GRB.pdf”>http://www.uspto.gov/ip/boards/oed/exam/OED_GRB.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;