Is taking Patent Law advisable? Forum

studebaker07 · Post by **studebaker07** » Fri Jul 22, 2011 10:00 pm

For the past year and through the next, I will be focusing on taking IP classes. I am mostly interested in soft-IP because I don't have a technical degree and I don't see myself landing a job at a bigger firm practicing IP since most demand a technical background. I am working right now in the intellectual property department of a large company doing trademark enforcement and some light litigation work (pre-litigation research, etc.)

My question is would it make sense for me to take Patent Law if I probably won't be able to secure a job in the area of Patents? If anything, I might get a job doing patent licensing and I am genuinely interested in patent law, but I just don't see any firms wanting to hire me for the intellectual property department if all I know is trademark and copyright law.

dood · Post by **dood** » Fri Jul 22, 2011 10:35 pm

prolly.

NotMyRealName09 · Post by **NotMyRealName09** » Sat Jul 23, 2011 1:38 am

No, because you won't have passed the patent bar, and will get worked all day by JDs with engineering degrees.

Did you not realize you need a technical background before getting into IP? If not, sorry you wasted your time, and stop now. You have no career in IP. There is a ceiling you will never pass.

071816 · Post by **071816** » Sat Jul 23, 2011 1:49 am

NotMyRealName09 wrote:No, because you won't have passed the patent bar, and will get worked all day by JDs with engineering degrees.

Did you not realize you need a technical background before getting into IP? If not, sorry you wasted your time, and stop now. You have no career in IP.

This is an overly simplistic response. It is possible to do soft IP work without a technical degree (and many attorneys do it - e.g. Ken, the guy who started this website). It will probably be more difficult for OP to land an IP gig than a person in OP's exact situation with a technical degree who has passed the patent bar, but if you check out firms that have an IP practice area you will see that many of these attorneys do not have technical backgrounds. Network and gain experience in the soft IP realm (which it looks like OP is already doing), get good grades and OP will definitely have a shot.

About taking patents...I don't see how it could hurt OP to have this knowledge. Some attorneys do patent litigation who do not have technical backgrounds. I think grades, school, and connections will matter a lot more than which classes OP takes and it couldn't hurt to have knowledge of all areas of IP.

Gamecubesupreme · Post by **Gamecubesupreme** » Sat Jul 23, 2011 8:12 am

NotMyRealName09 wrote:No, because you won't have passed the patent bar, and will get worked all day by JDs with engineering degrees.

Did you not realize you need a technical background before getting into IP? If not, sorry you wasted your time, and stop now. You have no career in IP. There is a ceiling you will never pass.

My God this response sounded so bitter.

studebaker07 · Post by **studebaker07** » Sat Jul 23, 2011 10:33 am

Thanks chimp. I am well on my way to forming a good network at the company I work at. My boss is always introducing me to other attorneys who are all patent attorneys. I also feel like I am making a good name for myself in terms of impressing my boss on the TM side of IP.

I am leaning more towards taking the class if not to become more involved with patent litigation than at least to become more familiar with the patent claims drafting process and the issues that can arise.

In terms of finding work, while I may not be able to take the patent bar, many lawyers in this area that I have talked to say that breaking in to the practice through less traditional means (i.e. not having a technical degree) is possible, although I will have to start out somewhere else like contract drafting or business formation.

studebaker07 · Post by **studebaker07** » Sat Jul 23, 2011 10:34 am

Gamecubesupreme wrote:
NotMyRealName09 wrote:No, because you won't have passed the patent bar, and will get worked all day by JDs with engineering degrees.

Did you not realize you need a technical background before getting into IP? If not, sorry you wasted your time, and stop now. You have no career in IP. There is a ceiling you will never pass.
My God this response sounded so bitter.

+1. Its the kind of response that you give a "thanks, but no thanks" to.

LogosEther · Post by **LogosEther** » Sat Jul 23, 2011 10:46 am

NotMyRealName09 wrote:No, because you won't have passed the patent bar, and will get worked all day by JDs with engineering degrees.

Did you not realize you need a technical background before getting into IP? If not, sorry you wasted your time, and stop now. You have no career in IP. There is a ceiling you will never pass.

Thanks, but no thanks.

Just know that you can definitely still do soft IP. A lot of soft IP lawyers still have technical backgrounds, but the truth is that for soft IP, a technical background really doesn't help at all, except it allows you to do all of the IP options. But there is no aspect of practicing soft IP that requires that kind of knowledge... At least not one that I'm aware of.

071816 · Post by **071816** » Sat Jul 23, 2011 1:54 pm

studebaker07 wrote:Thanks chimp. I am well on my way to forming a good network at the company I work at. My boss is always introducing me to other attorneys who are all patent attorneys. I also feel like I am making a good name for myself in terms of impressing my boss on the TM side of IP.

I am leaning more towards taking the class if not to become more involved with patent litigation than at least to become more familiar with the patent claims drafting process and the issues that can arise.

In terms of finding work, while I may not be able to take the patent bar, many lawyers in this area that I have talked to say that breaking in to the practice through less traditional means (i.e. not having a technical degree) is possible, although I will have to start out somewhere else like contract drafting or business formation.

Out of curiosity, how did you land that gig? Sounds pretty sweet.

studebaker07 · Post by **studebaker07** » Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:10 am

chimp wrote:
Out of curiosity, how did you land that gig? Sounds pretty sweet.

Applied through symplicity earlier this year. Went in for an interview and sealed the deal. I was surprised to land the job since (prior to this) I did not have extensive IP experience. I have a technical background developing websites and programming web applications, but I think my boss wanted to hire an intern that he could get a lot of mileage out of in terms of mentoring.

It has worked out great on both sides I would say.

071816 · Post by **071816** » Tue Jul 26, 2011 6:48 pm

studebaker07 wrote:
chimp wrote:
Out of curiosity, how did you land that gig? Sounds pretty sweet.
Applied through symplicity earlier this year. Went in for an interview and sealed the deal. I was surprised to land the job since (prior to this) I did not have extensive IP experience. I have a technical background developing websites and programming web applications, but I think my boss wanted to hire an intern that he could get a lot of mileage out of in terms of mentoring.

It has worked out great on both sides I would say.

Cool. congrats.

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