Online Patent Drafting class at Georgia Tech

[smgsmc]

Summarizing the posts so far:

(1) The OP's degree and experience do not place him in a high-demand/low-supply scenario in which some firm is likely to hire him as a newbie and train him; that is, barring some personal connection or lightning bolt of luck.

(2) Most law firms want at least 1 yr experience with another law firm; so the OP is trapped in the classic newbie Catch-22:  How do I get law firm experience if no law firm is willing to hire a newbie without experience?

(3) For law firms not partnering with GT, passing the GT patent course will not qualify as at least 1 yr law firm experience and so has no value for these law firms.

(4) For law firms partnering with GT, the OP may (or will?) at least get an interview.

(5) There is one law firm partnering with GT that may be interested in the OP.

(6) So the $9000 will land the OP an interview with one firm. 

(7) Then comes the issues of location of the firm (is the OP under moving constraints), how many ME spots does that firm have, how many students are competing for those spots.  All important questions.  If I were the OP, I would want to speak to someone at the firm in advance of signing up.  They won't be able to make a commitment, but I would at least get a sense of what my chances were if I did take the course.

[trustme]

It's really sad that this is the state of the profession. This thread should be mandatory reading for people who want to become patent attorneys. Too many people think that the key to getting a patent law job is just getting the academic credentials and being eager. It also depends on a bunch of other things like Fall 1L grades, where you go to school, your major, your age, personality.

[PIT]

Some points for clarity below:

(1) The OP's degree and experience do not place him in a high-demand/low-supply scenario in which some firm is likely to hire him as a newbie and train him; that is, barring some personal connection or lightning bolt of luck.

Depends on the firm and what they're looking for; some firms will definitely invest in training a new EE based on their current/anticipated needs (thats how some law students get jobs), but if they have the option to go with a trained lateral they view the lateral as a cost savings.

(2) Most law firms want at least 1 yr experience with another law firm; so the OP is trapped in the classic newbie Catch-22:  How do I get law firm experience if no law firm is willing to hire a newbie without experience?

Exactly, and thats why this program was developed by an attorney who went to law school only to realize that it didn't prepare him to be a patent practitioner.

(3) For law firms not partnering with GT, passing the GT patent course will not qualify as at least 1 yr law firm experience and so has no value for these law firms.

The course does not equate to 1 year of experience but the experience that is received through this course rivals a first year associate's experience level based on the time and feedback that participants in this course will receive. It is difficult for partners in law firms to devote excessive amounts of time to feedback and training, whereas this is the sole purpose of this course. Also understand that the whole 1 year stipulation is based on a perception of what a 1st year associate "should know".  Therefore, it has been the only way that laws firms can try to quantify an experience level until this point, or either the law firm is purely looking for a lateral. For instance, the 1st year associate or clerk could have been doing docket/IDS work instead of prosecution, which means that they meet the 1 year of "experience" but have not "really" had 1 year of experience learning the ins and outs of prosecution (we've received complaints regarding laterals with lack of experience from several of our partner law firms). There is also value in the course for firms that have not partnered with us, which has been indicated when our previous students have gone on interviews and landed jobs with other firms who were truly impressed with their level of education and acumen and provide sample pieces of work, which have already been reviewed by our faculty.

[PIT]

(4) For law firms partnering with GT, the OP may (or will?) at least get an interview.

Yes, they are guaranteed at least one interview, however there are several firms that are participating and so realistically they will probably receive more than one interview by virtue of this course and its partner law firms alone (but the guarantee is only for 1). Although, please understand that employment is not guaranteed. A lot of the employment decisions (as noted in a post above) are driven by demand and law firm needs. Right now there are several firms anticipating a need in spring of next year, and there are other firms who are waiting to join the group based on assessing their needs during the spring of next 2017.

(5) There is one law firm partnering with GT that may be interested in the OP.

Yes, there is 1 law firm that has specifically request an ME who can learn to draft/prosecute computer-based applications. The majority of other participants will have EE/CS/Comp. E backgrounds, so for this particular firm the ME will actually be assessed against other ME's in the program.

(6) So the $9000 will land the OP an interview with one firm.

Yes, this at the very least is true. However, the educational value, experience, and work product that you can produce for other interviews/firms outside of this program is still valuable and has landed our previous students jobs in the past. Look at it this way, in the past we've been able to facilitate employment with law firms after the course, so bringing in law firms to guarantee interviews prior to the course only adds additional value and exposure.

(7) Then comes the issues of location of the firm (is the OP under moving constraints), how many ME spots does that firm have, how many students are competing for those spots.  All important questions.  If I were the OP, I would want to speak to someone at the firm in advance of signing up.  They won't be able to make a commitment, but I would at least get a sense of what my chances were if I did take the course.

I would say that anyone considering employment in this industry should be open to relocating if possible, but we understand that everyone cannot. So they should try to leverage this educational experience in their specific areas or possibly work with us to assess any strategic partnerships we may have in the geographical area where they are located. Also, several of our partner law firms have offices in several geographic areas, but the office for which they might be hiring could be different than your current location, so this will need to be discussed between the student and the firm upon the interview. This class is being capped off at 12 because the instructors will need time to give each student candid feedback on all of the assignments to help them continually develop. However, there is at least one law firm who may send a couple of its new associates as well (who are not looking for jobs obviously) so this increases the average attendees chances for employment. As with any interview process, other things may play a factor (work experience, grades outside of this course, location, personality, etc.) and this course isn't for everyone, but it is an option for some, and that's what we're providing - an option. We're already speaking to the firms on behalf of the students, and the firms would not come to the table for this if there was not a bonafide good faith attempt here to get some good talent hired for anticipated needs. Firms don't have that type of time to waste. The goal is to actually get you hired, which we have been successful at in the past and work diligently to continue to do so.

More information will be available on the website regarding firm participation and upcoming webinars (where these types of questions can be asked) in the near future. If you have an urgent question, please feel free to reach us directly as we only check this forum sporadically.

[PIT]

We will be hosting a series of live webinars for Q&A with practicing patent attorneys, faculty members, and attorneys from interviewing law firms in early January.  For those of you who are interested and have additional questions regarding the program, please register for at least one of the Q&A sessions here: http://patent-institute.com/pe.gatech/ee-cs-ce/.

[klarkkent98]

Thanks for the original question. It appears that the message is being skewed about the course. Here's the bottom line. I am a practicing patent attorney, I've been an examiner, worked as inhouse and outside counsel and have had jobs from pros to litigation and licensing. Now, here's the issue, is it worth your time and money?  Let me say this, you won't get a patent job without practical experience these days, unless you have connections. If you already have those connections do not worry about the course. If you don't, then you need to seek out any way to get real experience that you can put on a resume that will differentiate yours from the other 15 that counsel has received for the same job. You can be a PhD in BioElectrical Robotics (if there is such a thing) and still won't be able to speak the language and say that you k ow anything about drafting an application or responding to an office action. From what I see about this course, you get real world pratical knowledge. If nothing else, the weeks that you spend getting to know the faculty members will at least give you a contact in various firms. Do you have those now? 

As to the interview speak above, idk it does seem like you're paying for an interview, but that's probably one more than you have right now. Just saying.

I saw where Notre Dame offers a similar course, but it is much more. With all due respect to the others who have responded, I'm not sure you'll get tangible advice from someone not in the field. Seek out the copeople offering the course and ask them the tough questions.

I will say this though, when I started my career many years ago, I would have killed for something like this. Anything to make me more efficient my first years of practice and to teach me the ins and outs of drafting. Those first few years would have been so much easier.

[Ex Officio]

Based on the latest post from "klarkkent98", the email address for which appears to be owned by one of the instructors of this course, and certain IP address information which correlates between two of the supposedly totally-not-the-same-posters who have been carrying the "discussion" in this thread, I am locking this thread and banning all three users.

It is entirely acceptable to promote your own relevant class here.  I do not believe it is acceptable to pretend to be multiple disinterested parties in order to advertise and promote it.  This is commonly referred to as "being a shill" or "shilling".  If you want to promote your own relevant class, your IP firm, your relevant services, your relevant products, please do so with some semblance of transparency, and preferably do so in the "For Sale" forum or another relevant forum.