WHAT IT IS

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will begin a pilot Law School Clinical Certification Program. This program will allow law students to practice Intellectual Property Law before the agency under the strict guidance of a Law School Clinical Faculty Supervisor. The pilot will consist of both a patent program and a trademark program. 

LAW SCHOOLS SELECTED

Congratulations to the law schools selected to participate in the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Law School Clinic Pilot Program.  After a competitive application process, the pilot program selection committee chose the following schools to participate:

• American University,
• Washington College of Law;
• University of Connecticut School of Law;
• University of Maine School of Law;
• William Mitchell College of Law;
• The John Marshall Law School; and
• Vanderbilt Law School.
  

Each selected school had at least one notable aspect of their program that made the school stand-out as a model of a well functioning Intellectual Property Law Clinic Program.  The Selection Committee commented on exemplary aspects of the selected schools’ programs such as: requiring students to have completed Patent Clinic Level I before being accepted into Patent Clinic Level II, the USPTO Clinic; curriculum that includes coursework for Patent and Trademark prosecution; a faculty member designated to manage the IP Law Clinic’s Patent and Trademark dockets; requiring coursework in Professional Responsibility before or concurrent with the clinic; and most noteworthy, schools utilizing professional software programs to check for conflicts of interest. 

ABOUT THE APPLICATION PROCESS

A limited number of law schools were selected for the pilot program.  In order to be considered, law schools were asked to apply by submitting the required information in the Law School Clinical Certification Pilot Program Package.  The petition period has closed and applications from law schools to participate in the pilot Law School Clinical Certification Program are no longer being accepted. The deadline for law schools to apply for participation in the pilot program was Friday, May 30, 2008. An announcement of the schools accepted into this program was made on July 21, 2008.

STUDENT REQUIREMENTS

Each selected schoo will be asked to submit the applications of the participating students for review by the Director of Enrollment and Discipline. The OED Director will grant approval for limited recognition of the Law Student Attorneys after finding each student qualified. 

All students for the patent and the trademark programs must

• have the requisite legal qualifications, and
• be of good moral character and reputation. 

To qualify to practice in the patent program each student must also qualify by having the

• required scientific and technical qualifications for registration. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Questions regarding the pilot program may be directed to OED:

Melinda DeAtley
Staff Attorney, OED
E-mail: Melinda.DeAtley@uspto.gov
Phone: 571-272-4097