Intellectual Property Clinic

1-8 units

Open to 2L and 3L J.D. students. The Intellectual Property Clinic offers students an experience in the practice of intellectual property law. By assisting clinic clients, students have the opportunity to continue developing their understanding of intellectual property law and applying that understanding in real-world situations. The clinic provides an opportunity for students to increase their familiarity with each of the various areas of intellectual property law and the relationship between these areas while assisting entrepreneurs in the local community. Students will be working on matters that may include but are not limited to copyright, patent, right of publicity, trademark, and trade secret matters. As a pre- or co-requisite for enrolling in the clinic, students must take at least two intellectual property law courses from among the law school’s IP course offerings. The clinic participates in the Law School Clinic Certification Program of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for both patents and trademarks. Clinic students participate in this program and obtain limited recognition with the USPTO which grants students the ability to communicate with examiners and sign directly on matters before the USPTO. To participate in the patent portion of the program, students must be eligible to sit for the patent bar exam. All students who are not eligible for the patent bar exam will receive limited recognition practice numbers for the Trademark portion of the USTPO’s program only. [Note: Students are prohibited from taking more than one clinic/externship/supervised practicum in the same semester. Students who are not in good standing (for either academic or disciplinary reasons) are not eligible to participate in a clinic/externship. The clinics/externships have a different drop deadline than other law school courses. Students will not be allowed to drop any law clinic without good cause and the instructor's permission.] Students will earn 6 credits for the clinic, although a student may earn up to 8 credits with permission of the professor, depending on workload. For 6 credits, students must work a minimum of 255 hours over the course of the semester. The course is graded on a modified pass/fail basis: HP (3.94), P, LP (2.98), F (2.50).