In the United States, any Registered Patent Attorney carries a unique and specialized set of education and skills. To be a Registered Patent Attorney (or often just “patent attorney”) one must be both a lawyer and also a trained scientist or engineer. This requires at least a Bachelor’s degree in a hard science such as engineering, chemistry, biology, or equivalent, as well as a post-graduate Juris Doctor degree from a law school. Indeed, patent attorneys are some of the most highly educated in the legal field. On top of these high educational requirements, to be a patent attorney one must pass not one but two separate bar exams: A state bar exam to be a lawyer, plus a separate “Patent Bar” exam to be registered with the United Stated Patent and Trademark Office. This patent bar exam is one of the most challenging out there, with a pass rate well below 50%.
The purpose of such high barriers to entry in the patent law field is to ensure that only the most well-trained specialists are involved in the complex patent drafting process. A good patent attorney must understand not only the law of patents, but also the technical complexities of the inventions related to the patents. Here at Lambert Shortell & Connaughton, our team of highly trained patent attorneys is available for all aspects of the intellectual property field. Book an appointment with us here: www.calendly.com/lscip