From the sphere of intellectual property practice or technology transfer practice - there is such a thing as "technology transfer practice" and there are such people as "technology transfer practitioners" - and they aren't all lawyers, although many of them are, as are the authors of subject book. See http://www.core77.com/blog/book_reviews/book_review_from_edison_to_ipod_by_frederick_mostert_and_lawrence_apolzon_5865.asp for a full review.
My take: an entertaining summary intro to a complex topic, though, as the linked review points out, it doesn't give the whole picture of swimming in the IP shark pond. The industrial-design emphasis with lots of pictures made it a fun read, also recalling a related museum fave, http://www.mak.at/e/jetzt/f_jetzt.htm .
For deeper IP inquiries, a couple of possible resources are: The Technology Transfer System, by Alfred Muir http://www.amazon.com/Technology-Transfer-System-Inventions-Management/dp/0965759768 [may be out of print] and Marketing of High-Technology Products and Innovations http://www.markethightech.net/ - the 2001 edition of which anticipates Clayton Christensen's "disruptive technologies/innovator's dilemma" concept and sources him a number of times; presently in a 3rd edition as an edited volume with Jakki Mohr and co-editors.
Showing posts with label patent law. Show all posts
Showing posts with label patent law. Show all posts
Monday, January 18, 2010
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Patent agent - more on career switch pathway
The attractive aspect of this, if you have a science or engineering degree - or maybe even if you don't (see e.g. http://www.oppenheimercommunications.com/Patents/PatentAgentCareers.shtml for a technical writer's story)?
It's one 100-question multiple guess exam and bang, you have a new credential which opens new doors - not many one-shot career-changer projects like that.
Maybe. Wonder why more people aren't doing this?
One attractive aspect would be that some credentials actually REDUCE your practical options. (Law degrees are infamous for this if you get interested in a job as a non-attorney.) But I don't think a patent agent license would do that.
One review course, the PLI course, is pretty expensive, about $2800. 10% discount if you're IEEE, taking it down to about $2500.
According to Oppenheimer, he did it without such a course. But you'd still have to prepare.
It's one 100-question multiple guess exam and bang, you have a new credential which opens new doors - not many one-shot career-changer projects like that.
Maybe. Wonder why more people aren't doing this?
One attractive aspect would be that some credentials actually REDUCE your practical options. (Law degrees are infamous for this if you get interested in a job as a non-attorney.) But I don't think a patent agent license would do that.
One review course, the PLI course, is pretty expensive, about $2800. 10% discount if you're IEEE, taking it down to about $2500.
According to Oppenheimer, he did it without such a course. But you'd still have to prepare.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Law as a career switch?
I've discussed this before on this blog - I'm not sure how well law works as the destination of a career switch. The traditional path of going to law school is a tough, expensive educational campaign, even tougher if you're trying to do it part-time while full-time employed.
The campaign to become a lawyer doesn't end with finishing law school and passing the bar exam somewhere. The people who become superstar lawyers seem to have started young in a big law firm - not old and by themselves. I'm told that environment is pretty cutthroat - most of them don't last at those firms. But that seems to be the beginning of how they "make their bones" and establish credibility in the field.
Does law ever work as part of an interdisciplinary mix of credentials or as an off-label credential (e.g. get the law degree but use it as an entree to do something else, as can happen with e.g. advanced science, engineering or business credentials)?
I'm hard put to say. While cases can be found where people seem to have done this (e.g. policy analyst who has a law degree), those jobs can usually also be accessed by someone without a law degree. I don't think it would make sense to get a law degree and take the bar exam to get one of those kinds of jobs - there might be other, easier ways of accessing them.
An exception to all of the above, viewing law purely as a credential investment, might be patent law. One way to approach that, also discussed previously, is for a person with the necessary science or engineering background to start out by becoming a patent agent, which doesn't require a law degree.
Law seems to be a field where correct credentials are taken very seriously.
That all said: here is an amusing website which seems to have identified some loopholes for online paths to law degrees: ttp://www.lawschoolbible.com/dc_bar_option.htm.
There are also several states which still allow "apprenticeship" or "reading law" in law offices as a non-law-school pathway to becoming a lawyer: see
http://www.lawyersatisfactionblog.com/2009/04/becoming-a-lawyer-without-need.html
or
http://www.lawschool.com/noneed.htm
I think it's great that these pathways exist, but they sound impossible for already-employed people. And most shortcut websites end up pointing you back to Concord Law School.
So if you want to get a law degree as a way of opening a door to something else, generally there seem to be more efficient ways to do it.
But law is not impossible as a career switch.
The campaign to become a lawyer doesn't end with finishing law school and passing the bar exam somewhere. The people who become superstar lawyers seem to have started young in a big law firm - not old and by themselves. I'm told that environment is pretty cutthroat - most of them don't last at those firms. But that seems to be the beginning of how they "make their bones" and establish credibility in the field.
Does law ever work as part of an interdisciplinary mix of credentials or as an off-label credential (e.g. get the law degree but use it as an entree to do something else, as can happen with e.g. advanced science, engineering or business credentials)?
I'm hard put to say. While cases can be found where people seem to have done this (e.g. policy analyst who has a law degree), those jobs can usually also be accessed by someone without a law degree. I don't think it would make sense to get a law degree and take the bar exam to get one of those kinds of jobs - there might be other, easier ways of accessing them.
An exception to all of the above, viewing law purely as a credential investment, might be patent law. One way to approach that, also discussed previously, is for a person with the necessary science or engineering background to start out by becoming a patent agent, which doesn't require a law degree.
Law seems to be a field where correct credentials are taken very seriously.
That all said: here is an amusing website which seems to have identified some loopholes for online paths to law degrees: ttp://www.lawschoolbible.com/dc_bar_option.htm.
There are also several states which still allow "apprenticeship" or "reading law" in law offices as a non-law-school pathway to becoming a lawyer: see
http://www.lawyersatisfactionblog.com/2009/04/becoming-a-lawyer-without-need.html
or
http://www.lawschool.com/noneed.htm
I think it's great that these pathways exist, but they sound impossible for already-employed people. And most shortcut websites end up pointing you back to Concord Law School.
So if you want to get a law degree as a way of opening a door to something else, generally there seem to be more efficient ways to do it.
But law is not impossible as a career switch.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Becoming a Patent Agent
This is a possible career switch path for someone with the right degree. To become a patent attorney, you have to become an attorney, meaning law school and the bar exam. To become a patent agent, you don't. You do have to take an exam.
A little info is at http://www.theinstitute.ieee.org/portal/site/tionline/menuitem.130a3558587d56e8fb2275875bac26c8/index.jsp?&pName=institute_level1_article&TheCat=1004&article=tionline/legacy/inst2008/feb08/educationEPP.xml&;jsessionid=h5dpKyghQkMGVL59ywkVNTy5vLzrGpRfX2CD7Lc7M1gpn8RkjnLG!-143611134!2121372814:
Consider Becoming a Patent Agent
Discount on U.S. Patent Bar Exam Course
BY JASON LADAY
While most engineers may be focused on obtaining patents through their own work, many overlook the possibility of becoming U.S. patent agents. Engineers and other scientific professionals are uniquely qualified to become patent agents because of their technical background. And their expertise is sought after by both law firms and corporations.
The main difference between patent agents and patent attorneys is that with their law degrees attorneys can practice law outside the patent office. However, both agents and attorneys must sit and pass the Patent Registration Exam, which tests one’s knowledge of patent law as well as U.S. Patent and Trademark Office policies. Those who become full-time patent agents can go to work at patent law firms.
For those interested in becoming an agent, the IEEE has collaborated with the Practicing Law Institute (PLI) to offer a 10 percent discount on its patent bar review course. This course helps prospective patent agents prepare for the Patent Registration Exam, better known as the patent bar exam. PLI is a nonprofit organization that provides continuing education courses for lawyers but has recently expanding its reach to others.
“Our patent bar review course is the first in existence to our knowledge,” says the institute’s training services director, Mark Dighton. “Until recently we have focused on lawyers and law students but want to reach out to engineers who are interested in becoming patent agents.”
One of the main requirements to sit for the patent bar exam is an undergraduate degree in engineering or other hard science, including chemistry, biology, physics, or computer science. According to PLI, the average lawyer or law student has no significant advantage over an engineer with no legal experience in taking the exam because the test is more about knowing procedural details than actual patent law.
“Engineers often decide on becoming patent agents because it broadens their career opportunities,” Dighton says. ”It’s diverse and fascinating work and keeps you on the cutting edge of the engineering profession.” Patent agents are sought after by law firms and corporations.
COURSE DETAILS The review course can be taken on your own at home or in a classroom with a teacher. All students receive a set of written materials, including practice books and an audio CD of all lectures. Those taking the home study route will also receive DVDs replicating the live lectures and question reviews.
The live courses are a series of five-day lectures and exercises that last 10 hours each day. Courses are scheduled throughout the year in Boston; Chicago; Costa Mesa, Calif.; Houston; New York; San Francisco; and the Washington, D.C. area.
According to PLI, those planning to take the exam should set aside at least 150 to 200 hours of study, in chunks of three to four hours at a time spread over a month or two. Ideally, one would take the course sometime in the middle of this period, continuing to review the material even after the course has ended. Course materials must be returned after the exam.
For more information on PLI, the Patent Bar Review Course, and the Patent Bar Exam, visit http://www.pli.edu/barreview/patentbar/engineer_corner.asp
Also see http://inventors.about.com/od/patentattorneys/ht/patent_agent.htm
and
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/attorney.htm.
I don't know any patent agents, don't know what they do day-to-day, who hires them, how business comes to them, etc. It would be interesting to get some stories about how this has worked out for people as a career shift.
A little info is at http://www.theinstitute.ieee.org/portal/site/tionline/menuitem.130a3558587d56e8fb2275875bac26c8/index.jsp?&pName=institute_level1_article&TheCat=1004&article=tionline/legacy/inst2008/feb08/educationEPP.xml&;jsessionid=h5dpKyghQkMGVL59ywkVNTy5vLzrGpRfX2CD7Lc7M1gpn8RkjnLG!-143611134!2121372814:
Consider Becoming a Patent Agent
Discount on U.S. Patent Bar Exam Course
BY JASON LADAY
While most engineers may be focused on obtaining patents through their own work, many overlook the possibility of becoming U.S. patent agents. Engineers and other scientific professionals are uniquely qualified to become patent agents because of their technical background. And their expertise is sought after by both law firms and corporations.
The main difference between patent agents and patent attorneys is that with their law degrees attorneys can practice law outside the patent office. However, both agents and attorneys must sit and pass the Patent Registration Exam, which tests one’s knowledge of patent law as well as U.S. Patent and Trademark Office policies. Those who become full-time patent agents can go to work at patent law firms.
For those interested in becoming an agent, the IEEE has collaborated with the Practicing Law Institute (PLI) to offer a 10 percent discount on its patent bar review course. This course helps prospective patent agents prepare for the Patent Registration Exam, better known as the patent bar exam. PLI is a nonprofit organization that provides continuing education courses for lawyers but has recently expanding its reach to others.
“Our patent bar review course is the first in existence to our knowledge,” says the institute’s training services director, Mark Dighton. “Until recently we have focused on lawyers and law students but want to reach out to engineers who are interested in becoming patent agents.”
One of the main requirements to sit for the patent bar exam is an undergraduate degree in engineering or other hard science, including chemistry, biology, physics, or computer science. According to PLI, the average lawyer or law student has no significant advantage over an engineer with no legal experience in taking the exam because the test is more about knowing procedural details than actual patent law.
“Engineers often decide on becoming patent agents because it broadens their career opportunities,” Dighton says. ”It’s diverse and fascinating work and keeps you on the cutting edge of the engineering profession.” Patent agents are sought after by law firms and corporations.
COURSE DETAILS The review course can be taken on your own at home or in a classroom with a teacher. All students receive a set of written materials, including practice books and an audio CD of all lectures. Those taking the home study route will also receive DVDs replicating the live lectures and question reviews.
The live courses are a series of five-day lectures and exercises that last 10 hours each day. Courses are scheduled throughout the year in Boston; Chicago; Costa Mesa, Calif.; Houston; New York; San Francisco; and the Washington, D.C. area.
According to PLI, those planning to take the exam should set aside at least 150 to 200 hours of study, in chunks of three to four hours at a time spread over a month or two. Ideally, one would take the course sometime in the middle of this period, continuing to review the material even after the course has ended. Course materials must be returned after the exam.
For more information on PLI, the Patent Bar Review Course, and the Patent Bar Exam, visit http://www.pli.edu/barreview/patentbar/engineer_corner.asp
Also see http://inventors.about.com/od/patentattorneys/ht/patent_agent.htm
and
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/attorney.htm.
I don't know any patent agents, don't know what they do day-to-day, who hires them, how business comes to them, etc. It would be interesting to get some stories about how this has worked out for people as a career shift.
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