Law School Clinical Certification Pilot
What It Is
The Law School Clinical 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
University of Akron School of Law
American University, Washington College of Law
University of Connecticut School of Law
The George Washington University School of Law
Howard University School of Law
The John Marshall School of Law
University of Maine School of Law
University of Maryland School of Law
University of New Hampshire School of Law
North Carolina Central University School of Law
University of Puerto Rico School of Law
University of Richmond – Richmond School of Law
Rutgers Law School – Newark
Vanderbilt College of Law
West Virginia University School of Law
William Mitchell College of Law
Law Schools Interested in Participating
Additional law schools with Intellectual Property Clinic Programs that are interested in participating should continue to check this web-site for updates. Currently, it is planned that the Law School Pilot will undergo a review and depending upon the outcome, the program may consider opening to new participants as early as Spring 2012.
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
