Currently I am a Management Information Systems major and I was wondering if this major is eligible for being considered towards a career in Intellectual Property Law. As you know MIS major is usually apart of Business school curriculum all over the nation and I am also wondering although its not a "hard science" (i.e: Biology, Physics, Comp Sci) like most IP lawyers have a background in, can MIS majors pursue a career in IP Law even though its technically not a science.

Thanks

In 95% of all cases, no. There is a website that shows eligible ISM programs. General consensus is that business school is not science, and ISM degrees do not have enough focus on computer science to warrant sitting for the patent bar. You would have to check yourself, though.

Beisdes having one of the approved majors (Category A), you can also qualify by taking a certain number of required classes (Category B, basically a ton of assorted upper-level science classes for science/engineering majors), or by taking the Fundamentals of Engineering exam (Category C).

http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/dcom/o ... rb0210.pdf

You also might want to look into "electronic discovery". It's a growing, lucrative field and your background in MIS would be really helpful there!

You don't need a patent bar eligible major to work in patent law. With a MIS degree and some relevant WE you will be great for transactional or litigation. You might not have the "real" tech background that is coveted, but you are still familiar with technology and can be valuable to a IP group. Just know that someone with CS degree will be much more competitive.