Law School Clinical Certification Pilot
What It Is
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office began a pilot Law School Clinical Certification Program. This program allows law student to practice Intellectual Property Law before the agency under the strict guidance of a Law School Clinical faculty Supervisor. The pilot consists of both a patent program and a trademark program.
Pilot Update
The Law School Clinical Certification Pilot Program (Law School Pilot) launched its inaugural semester in Fall 2008. Over the Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 semesters, the Law School Pilot had between forty-five and fifty students practice in the program from the six schools selected to participate in the pilot. On behalf of the law school clinic’s clients the students filed a total of thirty-seven trademark applications, and ten patent applications. As the pilot continues, the USPTO looks forward to more students filing applications.
Law Schools Selected
A USPTO selection committee selected the following six schools to participate in the Law School Pilot:
- AU, 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.
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 mid-pilot review and depending upon the outcome, the program may consider opening to new participants as early as Spring 2010.
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
