Tuesday 12 July 2016

For Qualified Patent Attorney Chicago Is Worth Visiting

By John Green


Patent attorneys are lawyers with a specialty in the legal representation of clients with cases related to the process of patenting inventions. Different countries use the term differently. In some cases, lawyers with specialty in patenting may need to have different qualifications from general legal counsels. When in search for a patent attorney Chicago should be the first location to pay a visit.

Legal practitioners who deal with matters related to patenting may also be known by the titles patent lawyers or agents. These two titles are interchangeable in some jurisdictions because they are taken to hold the same meaning while they may not in other jurisdictions. If the two titles are taken to have different meanings, practitioners are only referred to as patent lawyers if they are also qualified as lawyers.

In the United States patent agents and attorneys have the necessary qualifications to work in this field. Both agents and attorneys hold the same license to practice. Their work involves representing clients before the patents and trademarks office (USPTO) in the country. Some of their responsibilities include preparing, filing, and prosecuting applications for patents. They also offer their clients with patentability opinions. This was an addition to their responsibilities by the Supreme Court in the Sperry v. Florida case.

Working in this field has specific requirements. For starters, it is mandatory to have admission to practice law in any US territory, state, or DC. The first ever patent to be issued by the USPTO was in 1790. From that time, the USPTO has issued qualification and licensure to over 73, 000 Americans who sat for and passed the registration examination.

Today, the number of agents and attorneys working in this field exceeds 42, 000. Of the 42, 000 attorneys and agents, 31, 000 have the licensure to practice law. The leading states in terms of the number of attorneys and agents is California, New York, and Texas in that order. Delaware leads in terms of the number of attorneys per capita.

In the United States, it is mandatory for an attorney or agent to be a holder of a technical degree in a science or engineering course such as physics or chemistry. Besides that, one must also take and pass the USPTO registration examination. Those who fail the registration examination administered by the USPTO are allowed to retake it again after a given period of time.

Like mentioned above, being admitted to practice law is a major requirement in this field. The admission puts the practitioners in a position to offer legal services outside the Patent Office. However, mostly, provision of such counsel is restricted to the specific jurisdiction one is admitted to exercise law in. Some jurisdiction permit provision of such services by attorneys from other states.

Outside USPTO, these attorneys can also advise clients on issues relating to the licensing of inventions and appealing of decision of the USPTO to a court. They may also offer advice regarding suing other parties for infringement. It is their responsibility to warn clients who are infringing into patents held by other individuals or companies.




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