Question for Experienced Patent Agents Forum

[billy mitchell]

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[billy mitchell]

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[tesoro]

Are you going for patent prosecution? If so, you don't need to spend the time and money on a law degree. If you pass the patent bar (assuming you're eligible) you can start prosecuting patent applications immediately. You might already know this though. Is there any particular reason you're pursuing law school?

I have a lot of experience in the field. Firms desire people with good experience (i.e., industry experience + patent holder, or USPTO experience. A masters degree in an engineering field helps too). A law degree doesn't appear to be a big leg up.

edit: option C. Get a prosecution gig as an agent while law school if you school fits your goals.

[Rawlsian]

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but how hard is it to go into patent law without a technical background? I'd like to go into IP law but a lot of it looks like patent law, and my B.A. is in philosophy.

[tesoro]

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but how hard is it to go into patent law without a technical background? I'd like to go into IP law but a lot of it looks like patent law, and my B.A. is in philosophy.

Very. You are barred from prosecution unless you take a substantial amount of additional schooling to meet the patent bar requirements.

You could skip the patent bar and try for a patent litigation gig. But I can't imagine that you'd have an easy time convincing a partner at a law firm to take you over someone with a degree in an engineering discipline (or any other technical background).

edit: do some research on trademark and copyright law. There are other fields such as trade secrets, etc. The door is wide open for you to practice in IP in these fields. Do realize, though, that the competition is more fierce since more people are eligible for this line of work.