Law School Clinic Certification Pilot

What It Is
Participating Law Schools
Request to Make Special Program 2012
Additional Information
Frequently Asked Questions

What It Is

The Law School Clinic Certification Pilot 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 Pilot Program. Please contact the school at the listed e-mail address if you wish to make general inquiries or request legal services.

Participating Law Schools	E-mail Address	IP Practice Area
American University, Washington College of Law	ipclinic@wcl.american.edu	Trademarks
Arizona State University College of Law	patent_clinic@asu.edu (patents) Trademark_clinic@asu.edu (trademarks)	Patents and Trademarks
California Western School of Law	TrademarkClinic@cwsl.edu	Trademarks
Case Western Reserve University School of Law	lawclinic@case.edu or Todd.Behrens@case.edu	Patents
Fordham University School of Law	IPILClinic@lsls.fordham.edu	Patents and Trademarks
Howard University School of Law	RThomas@law.howard.edu	Trademarks
* Michigan State University School of Law	biznp@law.msu.edu	Trademarks
North Carolina Central University School of Law	ipclinic@nccu.edu	Patents and Trademarks
Rutgers Law School – Newark	jkettle@kinoy.rutgers.edu	Trademarks
South Texas College Of Law	lawclinics@stcl.edu	Trademarks
The George Washington University School of Law	GWUSBC@law.gwu.edu	Trademarks
The John Marshall School of Law	patentclinic@jmls.edu	Patents
Thomas Jefferson School of Law	PatentClinic@tjsl.edu (patents) TrademarkClinic@tjsl.edu (trademarks)	Patents and Trademarks
University of Akron School of Law	trademarkclinic@uakron.edu	Trademarks
University of Colorado Law School	elawclin@colorado.edu	Patents
University of Connecticut School of Law	iplawclinic@law.uconn.edu	Patents and Trademarks
University of Maine School of Law	patent@usm.maine.edu	Patents and Trademarks
University of Maryland School of Law	miplrc@law.umaryland.edu	Patents and Trademarks
University of New Hampshire School of Law	ipclinic@law.unh.edu	Trademarks
University of Notre Dame Law School	ipclinic@nd.edu	Patents and Trademarks
University of Puerto Rico School of Law	ipclinic@ferraiuoli.com	Patents and Trademarks
* University of Richmond School of Law	ipclinic@richmond.edu	Trademarks
University of San Francisco School of Law	lawclinic@usfca.edu	Trademarks
University of Washington School of Law	elcinfo@uw.edu	Patents and Trademarks
Vanderbilt Law School	legal.clinic@vanderbilt.edu	Trademarks
Wayne State University Law School	patentclinic@wayne.edu	Patents
West Virginia University School of Law	elc@mail.wvu.edu	Trademarks
William Mitchell College of Law	jean.backes@wmitchell.edu	Patents and Trademarks

* currently inactive

Map for the Law School Clinic Certification Pilot Program

Request to Make Special Program 2012

The Request to Make Special Program provides law students with the practical experience answering Office Actions and communicating directly with the USPTO as they will be more likely to receive substantive examination of applications that they file within the school year.

Additional Information

Law Schools interested in participating should continue to monitor this website for announcements of an expansion.

Questions regarding the pilot program may be directed to the Office of Enrollment and Discipline:

Phone: 571-272-4097

E-mail: lawschoolpilotinformation@uspto.gov

Frequently Asked Questions

Click here for Frequently Asked Questions