This thread was closed because of overheatedness before any patent attorneys had posted. Certain of the comments were correct, most were off-base if not just plain foolish.
If anyone wishes to discuss the topic more rationally, first look at the posts by me and others in the old CC under Should engineers go to law school:2, then start a thread under law schools, and I will respond.
<p>well what I was wondering wasthat... is patent law only for engineers? or could a biology major do it also?</p>
<p>i think its more physics/chemistry based</p>
<p>My brother-in-law is managing partner in a good sized patent law firm. His firm prospectus lists each attorney and their undergraduate degree and school. All of the attorneys in his office have a technical undergraduate education. A higher percentage are engineers than scientists by training. Patent lawyers have to be able to understand the technical aspects of their clients' products to be effective in advocating for them. It makes sense, if you are interested in patent law, to pick the technical area that appeals most to you- since the undergraduate study in any of these areas is challenging. There are certainly patents for biologically based products...biomedical products...etc.</p>
<p>Patent law covers all technologies, including all subsets of engineering, chemistry, phyics and biology as well as certain aspects of computer science. To become a patent attorney or a patent agent (non-attorney) who will file and prosecute patent applications, you must have either a technical degree in certain subjects, or a certain number of college-level credits in such subjects. There is a third way, which involves pasing a certain state engineering examination, but it is not really worth discussing (despite the fact that it engendered a lot of discussion, mostly heat, in the previous post).</p>
<p>To be a patent litigator, that is, one who tries patent cases in courts, you do not have to be a registered patent attorney or have a technical dgreee, although many patent litigators have one or both.</p>
<p>For the requirements to become a patent attorney or patent agent, see the website at uspto.gov, site index under attorneys.</p>
<p>Next question?</p>