It’s official. Starting August 1, students in Boston College Law School’s Entrepreneurship & Innovation Clinic (EIC) will be allowed to practice intellectual property law before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
BC Law went through a rigorous application process to be accepted into the trademark portion of the USPTO’s Law School Clinic Certification Program. It is the only law school from Boston among the 56 participating nationwide.
Professor Lynnise Pantin, the founding director of the EIC, views the certification as a real plus for BC Law clinics and IP programs, and for students.
“It means that, under faculty supervision, students can prosecute a trademark directly and speak directly with the USPTO examining attorney on behalf of clients,” she said. “We also have a larger national footprint where we can potentially take cases from all over the country since our clinic will be among those featured on the USPTO website.”