Law School Clinic Certification Program

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	ipclinic@wcl.american.edu	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	iplawclinic@baylor.edu	Patents and Trademarks	Texas Only
Brooklyn Law School	BLIP@brooklaw.edu	Patents	All United States
California Western School of Law	TrademarkClinic@cwsl.edu	Trademarks	All United States
Case Western Reserve University School of Law	lawclinic@case.edu	Patents	Northern Ohio Only
Florida International University College of Law	clinics@fiu.edu	Patents	Florida Only
Fordham University School of Law	IPILClinic@lsls.fordham.edu	Patents and Trademarks	Northeastern United States Only
Howard University School of Law	clinics.husl@gmail.com (Trademarks) howardpatentipclinic@gmail.com (Patents)	Trademarks Patents (commencing participation January 1, 2019)	District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia Only
Indiana University Maurer School of Law	ipclinic@indiana.edu	Patents and Trademarks	Indiana Only
Indiana University McKinney School of Law	iuindip@iupui.edu	Patents and Trademarks	Midwestern States Only
Lewis & Clark Law School	sblc@lclark.edu	Patents and Trademarks	Oregon Only
Liberty University School of Law	ipclinic@liberty.edu	Trademarks	Virginia Only
Lincoln Law School of San Jose	ipclinic@lincolnlawsj.edu	Patents and Trademarks	All United States
Mitchell Hamline School of Law	jean.backes@mitchellhamline.edu	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	Patents:  North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia Trademarks:  North Carolina and South Carolina
Northeastern University School of Law	ipcolab@northeastern.edu	Trademarks	Massachusetts
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law	elc@law.northwestern.edu	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	jkettle@kinoy.rutgers.edu	Trademarks	All United States
Seattle University School of Law	TMclinic@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)  All United States  (Trademarks)
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	sulctechclinic@gmail.com	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) San Diego County, California (Trademarks)
Tulane University Law School	TLSIPLab@tulane.edu	Patents and Trademarks	Louisiana Only
UIC John Marshall Law School	patentclinic@jmls.edu (patents) trademarkclinic@jmls.edu (trademarks)	Patents and Trademarks	All United States (preference to Illinois and Midwest States) (Patents)  All United States  (Trademarks)
University of Akron School of Law	trademarkclinic@uakron.edu	Trademarks	All United States
University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law	Law-IPClinic@list.arizona.edu	Patents and Trademarks	Arizona Only
University of California, Irvine School of Law	IPATintake@law.uci.edu	Trademarks	California Only (preference to Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Riverside Counties)
University of California, Los Angeles School of Law	uspto@law.ucla.edu	Patents	All United States (preference to Southern California)
University of Colorado Law School	elawclin@colorado.edu	Patents	Colorado Only
University of Connecticut School of Law	iplawclinic@uconn.edu	Patents and Trademarks	Connecticut Only
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law	IPClinic@udmercy.edu	Patents Trademarks (commencing participation August 1, 2018)	All United States (preference to Michigan and Ohio) and Ontario, Canada
University of Idaho College of Law	trademarks@uidaho.edu	Trademarks	Idaho Only
University of Maryland School of Law	miplrc@law.umaryland.edu	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 Nebraska College of Law	eclinic@unl.edu	Trademarks	Nebraska Only
University of New Hampshire School of Law	ipclinic@law.unh.edu	Trademarks	All United States
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law	whitede@email.unc.edu	Trademarks	All United States (preference to North Carolina)
University of Notre Dame Law School	ipclinic@nd.edu	Patents and Trademarks	Midwestern United States Only
University of Pennsylvania Law School	DetkinIPTC@law.upenn.edu	Trademarks	Pennsylvania Only
University of Puerto Rico School of Law	Eugenio.torres@upr.edu	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	eclinic@sandiego.edu	Patents and Trademarks	Southern California Only
University of San Francisco School of Law	lawclinic@usfca.edu	Trademarks	All United States
University of St. Thomas School of Law	IPCtrademark@stthomas.edu	Trademarks	Minnesota Only
University of Tennessee College of Law	bkrumm@utk.edu Clinicdocs@utk.edu	Trademarks	All United States
University of Washington School of Law	elcinfo@uw.edu	Patents and Trademarks	Washington Only
Vanderbilt Law School	legal.clinic@vanderbilt.edu	Trademarks	All United States
Washington University in St. Louis School of Law	EIPAssistance@wulaw.wustl.edu	Patents	Missouri and Illinois
Wayne State University Law School	patentclinic@wayne.edu	Patents	Michigan Only
Western New England University School of Law	marie.fletcher@law.wne.edu	Trademarks	Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut Only

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

• Application Form
• Federal Notice

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