how many years of school do you need to become a patent attorney?
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010 at
4:06 am
Including the bachelors or master with engineering and science
So you study the engineering or science in Law school?
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You need to complete your Bachelor’s Degree and then 2 years of Law School and then you can specialize in the type of law that you wish to practice (Patents).
4 years of college leading to a BA or BS and 3 years of Law School; after which you pass any State Bar and begin practicing law of your choice, including patent laws.
If you want to specialize in Patent law; you need to spend additional two years at a law school where they offer patent specialty and acquire additional experience. Very few attorneys ever specialize academically, as you can practice anything you want once you pass the Bar and experience is what makes you a specialist.
4 year bachelor’s, 3 years of law school. You can complete the requirements for the Patent Bar during college. If you major in a science, you will almost certainly make the requirements. If not, you’ll have to look up the requirements and be sure to take enough science classes. (I was a philosophy major concentrating in physics and math and I ended up 2 classes short). Once you’ve passed the Bar Exam, you’ll be eligible to sit for the patent bar.
You don’t study engineering or science in Law School, but you’ll likely take Intellectual Property, Corporations, Anti-Trust, and other relevant classes. If you don’t have enough science credits, you can certainly take the classes at a community college during law school or over the summers, but it’s not a part of your main law-school curriculum.
Note that most people change their majors at least once, change their professions at least once, and if you go to law school, it’s pretty common to change your focus. If you want to be a patent lawyer, do what you need to do to make it happen, but don’t close off other doors along the way until you have to and don’t be surprised if your goals change over time.
Also, you should note, you only need to pass the patent bar to do patent prosecutions (basically that means you’re trying to get things patented). You can do lots of other aspects of patent law without that, though it’s harder to get a job at a patent firm without being eligible for the patent bar and many firms require a science degree, especially biology.