Eligibility to become Patent Attorney Forum

[Anonymous User]

Apologies if this thread is not in the right section of the forum.

To be eligible to take the patent practitioner exam:
One of the options, besides having a Bachelor's in a hard science, is to have a certain amount of credits in either physics, chemistry and/or biology. Does anyone know if anatomy and physiology are considered as biology classes?

Thanks.

[UVA2B]

I could be wrong on this, but the USPTO guidance is pretty specific whether coursework applies, but generically if the classes were specifically geared toward a science major, they would count. So if you were taking an anatomy or physiology class that is required for biology majors, then it will count. If not, they won't apply to the Cat. B options.

And just so we're clear, the Cat. B options generally require 8 credit hours of physics and chemistry along with classes in biology, etc. Biology is accepted after/in addition to the chemistry/physics reqs.

You may have looked this up, but here is the guidelines from the USPTO:

i. Option 1: 24 semester hours in physics. Only physics courses for physics majors will be accepted.
ii. Option 2: 32 semester hours in a combination consisting of the following:
8 semester hours of chemistry or 8 semester hours of physics, and 24 semester hours in biology, botany, microbiology, or molecular biology.
The 8 semester hours in chemistry or 8 semester hours of physics must be obtained in two sequential courses, each course including a lab. Only courses for science or engineering majors will be accepted.
iii. Option 3: 30 semester hours in chemistry. Only chemistry courses for chemistry majors will be accepted.
iv. Option 4: 40 semester hours in a combination consisting of the following:
8 semester hours of chemistry or 8 semester hours of physics, and
32 semester hours of chemistry, physics, biology, botany, microbiology, molecular biology, or engineering. (For Computer Science, see other acceptable course work.)
The 8 semester hours of chemistry or 8 semester hours of physics must be obtained in two sequential courses, each course including a lab. Only courses for science or engineering majors will be accepted.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks for your respond. I have looked at the options but I just wondered if anatomy and physiology is considered under "biology" in those options.

[Saltnpeppa1]

When I applied to sit for the exam, I qualified under Category B. They were pretty liberal in interpreting whether certain classes fell under the course requirements. I don't know about your specific question though.

[elendinel]

I think it will largely depend on your syllabus/what you learned. Like if you have a syllabus that showed that what you learned was a legitimate expansion of what you'd learn in a college-level biology class for bio majors, they're more likely to accept it as one of your biology classes. If it's a "science for nonmajors" type class it's less likely to be accepted. I don't have experience using an anatomy class, specifically, to qualify, though.

[Anonymous User]

Apologies if this thread is not in the right section of the forum.

To be eligible to take the patent practitioner exam:
One of the options, besides having a Bachelor's in a hard science, is to have a certain amount of credits in either physics, chemistry and/or biology. Does anyone know if anatomy and physiology are considered as biology classes?

Thanks.

I recommend you just contact the USPTO OED and explain your situation. They were very helpful when I did.