Becoming a patent attorney is a lengthy process that requires seven years of full-time study after high school. This includes four years of undergraduate study and three years in law school. To be successful in this field, you must have experience and skills outside the legal profession, such as in engineering or biosciences. Depending on the area of patent law, you may need to have a bachelor's degree or higher in a technical field.
It is important to stay up to date with technological advancements. The earlier you decide to pursue a career as a patent attorney, the better, as it will allow you to focus on the subjects that the USPTO requires. If you have any legal or patent-related issues, it is best to contact an experienced and licensed patent attorney from your jurisdiction. Most patent attorneys specialize in science or engineering during their university studies to gain the necessary technical knowledge for their job. After completing law school, they must pass the patent registration exam to represent clients before the patent office. At George Mason University's Antonin Scalia School of Law, for example, 20 percent of the 89 credits are dedicated to studying patent law.
According to Howard & Howard, lawyers need approximately two years of supervised practice preparing patent applications before they can work independently. If you already have a degree in science or engineering, you should expect to become a patent attorney within 4.5 years. Patent attorneys must be able to communicate clearly and effectively when drafting a patent application or communicating with the patent office. They often have university degrees in science or engineering to understand products and technical concepts. The USPTO requires a degree in science or engineering; however, there is an exception to this rule.
Students can gain practical experience in patent law along with their academic training. In addition to their academic training, patent attorneys must demonstrate that they have at least a university degree in one of the scientific or engineering fields approved by the U. S. Becoming a patent attorney requires a full university education that prepares students to express themselves, think critically, and analyze data. The National Association of Patent Professionals offers e-mail discussion forums for its members where questions, reflections and answers are asked about intellectual property rules, theory and procedures, the management of a professional patent activity, product recommendations, etc.
