To become an intellectual property lawyer, attend law school and specialize in patent, trademark, or copyright law. A degree in science or engineering may be necessary for patent law. Join professional organizations and publish articles to attract clients.
If you want to become an intellectual property lawyer, you will need to attend law school and take courses in patent law, trademark law, or copyright law. It may also be helpful to have a degree in engineering, science, medicine, technology or some other related field, although this is not always necessary. You will also need to determine what type of intellectual property you would like to specialize in.
Intellectual property covers a broad field of protection for ideas. Many different types of intellectual property are protected by law, from paintings and books to formulas for new drug therapies, computer software code, and identifying marks like the Nike swoosh. These different types of property are protected by copyright law, which protects works of authorship or art; patent law, which produces functional ideas for products such as the design of an invention or a formula for drug therapy; and trademark law, which protects brand identification marks.
If you want to become an intellectual property attorney, you will need to determine which of these fields you want to specialize in. If you choose to become an intellectual property attorney who deals primarily with patents, you will generally need a degree in science or engineering so that you can understand not just the legal aspect of patenting, but the technical aspect as well. For intellectual property attorneys dealing with copyright and trademarks, a science degree is not a prerequisite.
You will also need a law degree to become an intellectual property lawyer. This means attending law school in the United States or the equivalent in the country where you live. Some law schools offer specializations in intellectual property, such as Santa Clara University in San Jose, California. Others don’t offer specializations, but you can still become an intellectual property attorney by attending one of these schools. If your school doesn’t allow your major, you should still take as many courses on patent, trademark, and copyright law as possible while you’re in college.
After graduation, you will need to find clients. Most companies and individuals that hire intellectual property lawyers work with larger law firms in major cities. As such, you should get good grades in law school and try to apply to one of these specialist law firms first. There, you can gain experience and reputation within the field. You should also complement this experience by joining professional organizations of intellectual property lawyers and publishing articles in trade journals and legal journals so that you can make yourself known in the field and start attracting your own clients.
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