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Topic: software patent lawyer: but no degree (Read 1229 times) |
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streklor
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Posts: 3
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software patent lawyer: but no degree
« on: Sep 30th, 2006, 12:56pm » |
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Hey there everyone, i have practiced law for 9 years in nontechnical areas/non patent or IP. over the last 2-3 years have reawakened my programming skills passion of the 80's: I want to practice in this new area of software patents because i love programming and now understand a number of languages. i know i can do much of the infringement litigation now, but not file for patents or anything in front of USPTO. problem is i don't have coursework or a natural science degree!!! I have only read computer science and programming language coursebooks like mad. and written numerous programs myself for fun. Any suggestions? Also, is the exam really hard? I am really loathe to go back to school even for a year to take basic coursework just so i can get some letters next to my name. Any patent lawyers out there have any ideas?
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Isaac
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Posts: 3472
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Re: software patent lawyer: but no degree
« Reply #1 on: Sep 30th, 2006, 6:16pm » |
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If you aren't planning on prosecuting patents before the PTO, then you don't need to take the patent practitioners exam.
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Isaac
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SoCalAttny
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Re: software patent lawyer: but no degree
« Reply #2 on: Sep 30th, 2006, 9:35pm » |
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For IP litigation one does not need to take the Patent exam. If your desire is to draft patent applications, file applications and prosecute them then you need one of any number of technical degrees and pass the exam.
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patento
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Posts: 132
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Re: software patent lawyer: but no degree
« Reply #3 on: Oct 8th, 2006, 6:38pm » |
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Writing software patents requires much more knowledge of the field; simply knowing a (or more) programming language will IMHO not help you getting a grasp of the wideness of the area of "software engineering". You will need to know different software technologies, methologies, systems, architectures.... However, not something you can't learn by reading, attending trainings, from internet... or simply by reading published applications. Its an interesting and dynamic field, fun to learn. Good luck. on Sep 30th, 2006, 12:56pm, streklor wrote:Hey there everyone, i have practiced law for 9 years in nontechnical areas/non patent or IP. over the last 2-3 years have reawakened my programming skills passion of the 80's: I want to practice in this new area of software patents because i love programming and now understand a number of languages. i know i can do much of the infringement litigation now, but not file for patents or anything in front of USPTO. problem is i don't have coursework or a natural science degree!!! I have only read computer science and programming language coursebooks like mad. and written numerous programs myself for fun. Any suggestions? Also, is the exam really hard? I am really loathe to go back to school even for a year to take basic coursework just so i can get some letters next to my name. Any patent lawyers out there have any ideas? |
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« Last Edit: Oct 9th, 2006, 3:18pm by patento » |
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LF
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Posts: 112
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Re: software patent lawyer: but no degree
« Reply #4 on: Oct 9th, 2006, 2:00am » |
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Strek: The path to USPTO registration includes either the FE exam, or getting some ABET recognized science degree. The FE used to be called the "EIT". While not programming intensive (heck, check their website, they probably have little if any programming content), most of its questions are about basic science. If you're serious, go see how hard it is for you, or just sign up and take it. Once you have the FE, then it's "just" the USPTO exam. And that is not about science or math, but about procedures.
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