2020-2021 EXPANSION
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has opened the Law School Clinic Certification Program to admit additional law schools to commence participation therein. Complete application submissions from interested law school clinical programs will be accepted on a rolling basis. The deadline for submitting an application is May 31, 2021. Applications from interested law school clinics will be examined for admission into the Program as they are received.
A copy of the application packet can be found at:
2020 Law School Application Packet
Complete applications and requested materials should be sent to:
MAIL STOP OED
Office of Enrollment and Discipline
United States Patent and Trademark Office
ATTN: Law School Clinic Certification Program
P.O. BOX 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
Questions regarding the Program, requirements, or the applications may be directed to the OED staff attorneys:
Jennifer Harchick, Tim Rooney, Emily Sprague, Gerard Taylor, Kim Weinreich, or Charlema Grant
Email: lawschoolinformation@USPTO.GOV
Phone: 571-272-4097
What It Is
The Law School Clinic Certification program allows law students enrolled in a participating law school's clinic program to practice Intellectual Property Law before the USPTO under the strict guidance of a Law School Faculty Clinic Supervisor. The program currently consists of students practicing in both patent and trademark law before the USPTO. The program is administered by the Office of Enrollment and Discipline. The Director of the Office of Enrollment and Discipline grants the law students limited recognition to practice before the Office.
Students gain experience drafting and filing either patent applications or trademark applications for clients of the law school clinic. Further, as they are authorized to practice before the USPTO, they gain experience answering Office Actions and communicating with either patent examiners or trademark examining attorneys for the applications they have filed.
Participating Law Schools
The law schools listed below participate in the USPTO Law School Clinic Certification Program. Please contact the school at the listed e-mail address if you wish to make general inquiries or request legal services.
**ACCEPTANCE AS A CLIENT IS
SUBJECT TO THE LAW SCHOOL’S
REQUIREMENTS AND DISCRETION
Participating Law Schools | E-mail Address | IP Practice Area | Geographic Area** (from which the law school may accept clients) |
---|---|---|---|
American University, Washington College of Law | Patents and Trademarks | District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia Only | |
Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Conner College of Law | patent_clinic@asu.edu (patents) Trademark_clinic@asu.edu (trademarks) | Patents and Trademarks | All United States |
Baylor Law School | Patents and Trademarks | Texas Only | |
Boston College Law School | paul.tremblay@bc.edu tarrants@bc.edu | Trademarks Only | Massachusetts Only |
Brooklyn Law School | Patents and Trademarks | All United States | |
California Western School of Law | Trademarks | All United States | |
Case Western Reserve University School of Law | Patents | Northern Ohio Only | |
Fordham University School of Law | Patents and Trademarks | Northeastern United States Only | |
Howard University School of Law | clinics.husl@gmail.com (Trademarks) howardpatentipclinic@gmail.com (Patents) | Trademarks | District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia Only |
Indiana University Maurer School of Law | Patents and Trademarks | Indiana Only | |
Indiana University | Patents and Trademarks | Midwestern States Only | |
Lewis & Clark Law School | Patents and Trademarks | Oregon Only | |
Liberty University School of Law | ipclinic@liberty.edu | Trademarks | Virginia Only |
Lincoln Law School of San Jose | Patents and Trademarks | All United States | |
Mitchell Hamline School of Law | Patents | Upper Midwestern United States Only | |
New York Law School | ptoclinic@nyls.edu (patents) trademarkclinic@nyls.edu (trademarks) | Patents and Trademarks | All United States |
North Carolina Central University School of Law | ipclinic@nccu.edu (link sends email) | Patent and Trademarks | North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia |
Northeastern University School of Law | ipcolab@northeastern.edu | Trademarks | Massachusetts |
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law | Trademarks | Illinois Only (preference to Chicago, Illinois Area) | |
Roger Williams University School of Law | bsuc@rwu.edu | Trademarks | Rhode Island and surrounding States Only |
Rutgers Law School | Trademarks | All United States | |
Seattle University School of Law | TrademarkClinic@Seattleu.edu | Trademarks | Washington, Alaska, Montana, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming |
South Texas College Of Law Houston | patent@stcl.edu (patents) trademark@stcl.edu (trademarks) | Patents and Trademarks | Texas and Louisiana Only (Patents) |
Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law | patentclinic@smu.edu (patents) trademarkclinic@smu.edu (trademarks) | Patents and Trademarks | Dallas-Forth Worth, Texas and Northern Texas on a limited basis |
Southern University Law Center | info@sulctech.org | Patents and Trademarks | Louisiana Only |
Suffolk University Law School | clinical@suffolk.edu | Patents and Trademarks | Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island |
Syracuse University College of Law | trademarks-cdlc@syr.edu | Trademarks | Upstate New York Only |
Texas A&M University School of Law | patc-info@law.tamu.edu (patents) tmc-info@law.tamu.edu (trademarks) | Patents and Trademarks | Texas Only |
The George Washington University School of Law | sbced_uspto_intake@law.gwu.edu | Trademarks | District of Columbia Only |
Thomas Jefferson School of Law | PatentClinic@tjsl.edu (patents) TrademarkClinic@tjsl.edu (trademarks) | Patents and Trademarks | San Diego, Imperial and Riverside Counties, California (Patents) |
Tulane University Law School | TLSIPLab@tulane.edu | Trademarks | Louisiana Only |
UIC John Marshall Law School |
law-tmclinicinfo@uic.edu (trademarks) | Patents and Trademarks | All United States (preference to Illinois and Midwest States) (Patents) All United States (Trademarks) |
UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law | Trademarks | All United States | |
University of Akron School of Law | Trademarks | All United States | |
University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law | Patents and Trademarks | Arizona Only | |
University of California, Irvine School of Law | Trademarks | California Only (preference to Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Riverside Counties) | |
University of California, Los Angeles School of Law | Patents | All United States (preference to Southern California) | |
University of Colorado Law School | Patents | Colorado Only | |
University of Connecticut School of Law | Patents and Trademarks | Connecticut Only | |
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law | Patents | All United States (preference to Michigan and Ohio) and Ontario, Canada | |
University of Maryland School of Law | Patents and Trademarks | Maryland and District of Columbia Metro Area Only | |
University of Miami School of Law | dravicher@law.miami.edu | Patents and Trademarks | All United States |
University of Michigan Law School | Trademarks | Southeast Michigan | |
University of Nebraska College of Law | eclinic@unl.edu | Trademarks | Nebraska Only |
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law | Trademarks | All United States (preference to North Carolina) | |
University of Notre Dame Law School | Patents and Trademarks | Midwestern United States Only | |
University of Pennsylvania Law School | Trademarks | Pennsylvania Only | |
University of Puerto Rico School of Law | Patents and Trademarks | Puerto Rico Only | |
University of Richmond School of Law | ipclinic@richmond.edu | Trademarks | Virginia and District of Columbia |
University of San Diego School of Law | Patents and Trademarks | Southern California Only | |
University of San Francisco School of Law | Trademarks | All United States | |
University of St. Thomas School of Law | Trademarks | Minnesota Only | |
University of Tennessee College of Law | Trademarks | All United States | |
University of Washington School of Law | Patents and Trademarks | Washington Only | |
Vanderbilt Law School | Trademarks | All United States | |
Washington University in | Patents | Missouri and Illinois | |
Western New England University School of Law | Trademarks | Greater Springfield Area of Massachusetts |
USPTO Law School Clinical Certification Program Participating School Map
INFORMATIONAL WEBINAR
OED is hosting an informational webinar for schools interested in the USPTO's Law School Clinic Certification Program. For more details about this event, see Informational Webinar for Law School Clinic Certification Program.
2016-2017 EXPANSION
The 2016-2017 expansion of the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Law School Clinic Certification Program is now closed and is not currently accepting any new applications from law schools for participation therein. It is uncertain when the Program may open for expansion in the future.
For reference, a copy of the application packet from the 2016-2017 expansion can be found at:
2016 Law School Application Packet
Questions regarding the Program may be directed to the Office of Enrollment and Discipline:
James M. Silbermann, Staff Attorney, OED
Jennifer A. Harchick, Staff Attorney, OED
Email: lawschoolinformation@USPTO.GOV
Phone: 571-272-4097
2016 REPORT TO CONGRESS
As required by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) Law School Clinic Certification Program Act (P.L. 113-227), the Office of Enrollment and Discipline of the USPTO submitted a report to Congress on behalf of the Director of the USPTO on December 14, 2016. This report fulfilled the requirements of the act by describing the number of law schools and law students participating in the Law School Clinic Certification Program (“Program”), the work done through the Program, the benefits of the Program, and any recommendations for modifications to the Program.
A copy of the Report to Congress can be found at:
2016 Law School Clinic Certification Program Report
Request to Make Special Program
Additional Information
Law Schools interested in participating should continue to monitor this website for announcements of an expansion.
Questions regarding the program may be directed to the Office of Enrollment and Discipline:
Phone: 571-272-4097
E-mail: lawschoolinformation@uspto.gov
Frequently Asked Questions
Click here for Frequently Asked Questions