Studying IP law at the University of Akron
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Learn more about IP
Students, faculty and recent alumni talk about the benefits and opportunities available within the IP program at Akron Law.
What is intellectual property law
Intellectual property is a dynamic field of law encompassing patent, trademark, and copyright law.
A STEM undergraduate degree is required to be eligible to practice patent law and with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Patent prosecutors are involved in the process of establishing patent rights for new inventions and new technology. They draft patent applications explaining how their client’s invention works and argue that it is worthy of a patent. Patent litigators are involved in disputed over patent rights, either seeking to enforce patent rights or defend against others seeking to enforce their own patent rights.
Trademark attorneys provide expert legal advice on the usage, protection, and enforcement of trademarks – the names, symbols, images, logos, and special characters that are used to identify companies and their products and services. Trademark attorneys will research a trademark to check if it is already in use across the globe and complete the prescribed procedures for the registration of new trademarks and enforcing trademark rights in the instance of infringements.
Copyright lawyers help clients establish and protect their claims to their work or the work of others that they own. A copyright gives the author or owner of a tangible form of expression – such as a book, an article, a painting, a piece of music, or a performance – the right to reproduce, distribute, show, licensee, or sell the work.
A STEM degree is not required to practice trademark or copyright law.
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Career information
As a result of the reputation of our IP program and the credentials of our students, the job placement rate of our IP Certificate and J.D./LL.M. graduates is consistently at or near 100%. Similarly, the average starting salary of IP program graduates is well above the school’s overall average. For 2018-19 patent bar eligible graduates, the average starting salary was $101,500.
Career Services and the IP Center also provide support career services specific to IP students, including an annual IP Career Advising Panel event and information on the Patent Law Interview Program held annually in Chicago.
Sampling of employment positions attained by recent IP Akron Law graduates:
Law firms
Corporations
Government