So, I've been talking about IP and law lately - here's some Q's I had that a friend answered. Enjoy yo'self!
1. Is there any chance I can still get a summer associate position with a firm (anywhere in the US) this summer, or is it mostly too late? If its not too late, how should I go about it?
It's probably too late to find a summer associate position. Most of the positions were filled by December. In fact, I've heard that a lot the people who actually got offers have had them either rescinded or shortened. In that case, my typical suggestion is to check out the PTO. Unfortunately, right now they are on a hiring freeze and it doesn't look like that's going to change any time soon.
At this point, if you're not looking for something full time, I'd say there's a very small chance of finding something just for the summer. If you are looking for something more permanent, there are opportunities around. (the site I use the most is www.indeed.com) Some firms don't require that you have your agent number before they hire you, the only thing they require is the eligibility to take the test. They will eventually require that you have it, but you'll still be able to get a job without it.
However, if you are just looking for experience and $$ isn't a factor, the IP clinic runs all summer long so you could pick up a few credits while getting the experience.
Here's a link to some general clinic info: http://www.law.umaryland.edu/programs/iplaw/practice.html
Patrica Campbell is the faculty contact for that: pcampbell@law.umaryland.edu
Another good person to talk to is Hillary Hansen: HHansen@law.umaryland.edu she's fairly new to the school and she was brought on to help coordinate IP internships and externships. I spoke to her last week and it seemed like she had a lot of opportunities she was "working on" so maybe she could also help find something for the summer.
Also, Professor Sung is the head of the IP department and a really great resource. I believe his background is biotech so he may be able to help point you in a much better direction than I can. http://www.law.umaryland.edu/faculty/profiles/faculty.html?facultynum=122 He's great, very approachable and a wealth of information. He'll go out of his way to see you as much as possible, but if you are having trouble getting a hold of him at school, he's more than willing to meet you in DC (I'm not sure where you are coming from).
2. What should I do for next year to position myself to get a good/prestigious summer position?
I believe we talked a little about this. By good/prestigious you mean "big firm," right? (I get so lost in all the terminology) I would say the best thing you could do is to go to the Loyola IP convention in Chicago in July. They sent out an email about it a little while ago. If you need the info, let me know. The other thing you could do is go talk to CDO. In my experience, they have not been all that helpful, but if you go to them now, they may talk to you about the bidding process, etc. when firms come on campus. Unfortunately, I think they will tell you that they won't really talk to you about specific things until Fall semester next year. But pump them for as much info as they are willing and able to give.
I have found the only way to really get any progress that makes sense is by looking for firms on my own. But again, talk to Prof Sung and Hillary and see if they know of any opportunities off hand. Since IP law is a broad definition for a lot of different aspects of intellectual property, depending what you're interested in, sometimes it's hard to differentiate the firms that are doing a lot of patent IP work and those who do just do trademarks and copyrights. Typically, if I'm looking for firms doing patent prosecution, I check out the yearly "Top patent firms" rankings. Here's a link to the current one: http://www.iptoday.com/articles/2009-3-top-patent-firms.asp
Here's also a listing of the IP organization websites. They are helpful for job stuff as well as gathering information. AIPLA has a local job fair every fall too.
IP Organizations
http://www.marylandiplaw.com/promo/about/
http://www.aipla.org/
http://www.ipo.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home
http://www.law360.com/
http://www.iptoday.com/
3. Do you know of any good resources to explain the IP field? I only decided on law school after my masters, and thus have little knowledge as to the differenecs between patent litigation, prosecution, other fields, etc...
For good resources, check out those web pages above. They have a lot of information on them. As for the differences between IP law, here's the quick and dirty:
First, IP is in it's simplest terms (this by no means is an official definition. I just find it helpful in conceptualizing all the different types) ....a property right based on ideas. So think of the idea as a house and when you are working on IP rights, you are basically defining and fighting for the fence line that surrounds the house. To continue my metaphor, when you are dealing with patent prosecution, no fences have been placed yet. You as a patent practitioner are working with the Examiner to determine where the fence should go. It doesn't do anyone much good if you put the fence right on top of the house because than there's not much (if any) difference between the boundaries of the wall of the house and the fence.Your job is to advocate for as much land as possible and the Examiner is working to make sure your boundaries are fair but not too much. In patent litigation, you are "defending" your homestead. The fences are in place and if you are on the prosecution party, someone has invaded your land (without paying). If you are for the defense, you are the party doing the alleged invading.
There's a lot more involved with each of these and I've had the opportunity to work on a lot of stuff in both areas. I'd be happy to share my experiences and knowledge if you're looking for more details. One of the things I feel strongly about is that to be a really good litigator, I think you have to have some prosecution background. Others disagree and it's not a requirement. Patent work is a lot of word games that are not intuitive. I feel like unless you've played the game in the trenches, it's a lot harder to see what games you can "play" in the litigation world. But that's just my two cents, you certainly don't need it.
Two other patent fields that bear mentioning include licensing and patent portfolio work. Licensing is when you agree to pay someone else to use their rights or someone pays you for use of your rights. And portfolio work is when you are looking at a bunch of single patents that together make a whole. For example, you typically don't just get a patent for a car, but you get one patent for the tires, one for the engine, one for the windshield wipers, etc. It's more big picture work.
The other facets of IP include trademark and copyrights. I know very little about either. But www.uspto.gov may be helpful. They have a lot of stuff on there.
4. In general, what kind of grades do we have to have to get into the field? Are GPA's secondary to a strong background in science, or are they just as important as they are for other students hoping to get corporate/firm jobs?
I think for this one, it bears a typical legal answer...it all depends. I've worked at a big general practice firm in DC and I'm currently working at a small IP boutique firm. (general practice means they do all kinds of law and boutique means they only do patents) In both cases, I don't think they even considered my grades. However, I think that is because of my patent experience (almost 8yrs between pto and firms). I have been told that patent law is different and that grades are not nearly as important as they are for other fields. However, in recent years, I have heard that this may be changing a little bit. This would be a great question for Prof. Sung. He may have a better idea on what to expect with not quite so much experience.
5. When should I aim to take the patent bar?
The guy from PLI said the other week suggested as soon as possible and I can't disagree. I would not suggest doing it during the school year. Also, you can wait until after you are finished but I can not see it being any better after you have just taken the bar. At that point, I'm sure the last thing you will want to do is more studying. If you are not planning on taking summer classes, summer may be a good time to focus on it. However, I will warn you, it is time consuming and not very fun. I have learned some tips and tricks along the way I'd be happy to share.
I took some notes of the PLI presentation, I'll copy and paste them below. Please feel free to ask any questions if they do not make sense.
if you study on your own, takes about 300 hrs (entire summer)
If you take a course takes about half time.
Two different possibilities if you take a course, in person or by dvd
Difference is how things are provided.
Can you survive self paced?
Don't forget food/lodging when calculating $$ if you do in person
When should you take?
Nothing you take in law school will help you pass the exam.
It is about patent prosecution not patent law.
Knock it out at your earliest point
6. Is there any thing importnat that I should know that first year students wouldnt know about IP?
Hmmm. Other than the stuff above? You don't actually need a science degree to work in IP. It helps, it is generally required for patent prosecution, but other than that any lawyer can basically do IP work. (I can also give you some perspective as to what the "real world" actually looks like, but I'll save that for another day)
Comments (1)
yea my mom told me they are on a hiring freeze and have stopped paying for worker's law school fees.