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What college major is suggested for a student interested in becoming an intellectual property attorney?

What college major is suggested for a student interested in becoming an intellectual property attorney? #law #lawyer #college-majors #studies

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Christopher’s Answer

The best major is science or engineering. There currently seems to be more demand for biology (biotech) and electrical engineering backgrounds for patent prosecution - but this might change in the future. If you know that you want to go to law school already, then it's also important to maximise your undergraduate GPA, which will be a factor in which law schools you can get into.

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Tom’s Answer

This answer is almost a given coming from an attorney, but "it depends." IP Law covers patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets, as well as the licensing and litigation thereof. While I totally agree with the other answers regarding becoming a patent attorney, there are myriad opportunities in IP Law for the non-scientist/engineer. A strong economics background would be helpful when drafting complex licensing agreements. An arts or literature background could help when representing copyright or trademark clients. And skill as a litigator has far more to do with personality than college major. If patent law is your goal, try to look ahead to what technologies will be big when you graduate (water/agricultural tech? energy? robotics? tough call), and pick a major in one of those fields.


Whatever your interest, assess your strengths and work towards those. And if you still can't make up your mind in undergrad there's always grad school! Law firms love advanced degrees.
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Pallavi’s Answer

The first step in becoming an IP attorney is to become a scientist / engineer. Once you have your Bachelor's, you go to law school after which you take the Bar Exam (to become an attorney), and the Patent Bar exam (to specifically be an IP attorney). In order to qualify for the Patent Bar Exam, you must have a bachelor's degree in a technical field.


So — the college you should go to should be any school with a great science / engineering program. Hope that helps!
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Conor’s Answer

Intellectual property is a growing field, and it is going to be a dynamic career in addition to a lucrative one - good choice!
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Nick’s Answer

Engineering, computer science, or cyber security would be relevant. Unless you are doing a ton of patents though, you can manage with a wide range of degrees. Like most of the law, it is more important to learn the relevant pieces of law associated with the subject than having a degree or background.
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Richard’s Answer

I do not know any intellectual property attorneys. My wife is a bankruptcy lawyer. She says that it doesn’t really matter what you do in college since law school is completely different. Choose a major that interests you instead.
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