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Hi all,

I'm an undergraduate deciding on majors at the moment. Currently IP/patent law interests me a great deal, so I'm leaning towards a double major in the humanities and sciences. My choices are limited to a BA degree at this point because I don't have enough time to complete a BS in my time remaining. So my question is this: would I meet the US Patent Bar's requirement with a BA in Computer Science?

Thanks for your help!

Found this on the UP Patent Office site:

http://www.uspto.gov/ip/boards/oed/grb.pdf
*Acceptable Computer Science degrees must be accredited by the Computer Science Accreditation Commission (CSAC) of the Computing
Sciences Accreditation Board (CSAB), or by the Computing Accreditation Commission (CAC) of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), on or before the date the degree was awarded. Computer science degrees that are accredited may be found on the Internet (http://www.abet.org).

So, figure out if your BA is accredited.

Edit: Realized you go to Rice. According to that ABET site, Rice does not have an accredited CS program.

Even if your Computer Science degree doesn't automatically qualify under Category A, you might qualify to sit for the Exam under Category B, if you have sufficient engineering and hard science credits.
Sincerely,
Mark Dighton, Esq.
Admin. Director, Patent Bar Review
PLI

markdighton wrote:Even if your Computer Science degree doesn't automatically qualify under Category A, you might qualify to sit for the Exam under Category B, if you have sufficient engineering and hard science credits.
Sincerely,
Mark Dighton, Esq.
Admin. Director, Patent Bar Review
PLI

Thanks, Mark, for your post. Under Category B, Option (see http://www.uspto.gov/ip/boards/oed/grb.pdf p. 4) I would need to take 8 hours of physics or chemistry in addition to 32 hours of CS classes to qualify. However, the acceptable CS classes must "stress theoretical foundations, analysis, and design." How is this determined?

Further on in the General Requirements Bulletin you will find a paragraph entitled "Other Acceptable Coursework". There, there's a list of courses that the PTO considers acceptable, and a list of course that they DON'T find acceptable under this standard. You want your courses, if at all possible, to be in (or very near) the courses in that first list. They tend to be pretty strict about this.
Mark