Summary: Lincoln Law School will provide a free legal clinic to inventors and entrepreneurs who seek advice on obtaining patents for their ideas to bring them to life.
Mercury News has announced that Lincoln Law School of San Jose, California has created a new type of legal clinic—one that targets inventors and entrepreneurs instead of low-income clientele. The clinic is set to open in October of this year.
Those with ideas for the next big technological gadget often do not have the bank accounts to support their ideas. Advice on intellectual property law, assistance with drafting, researching, and filing applications, and representation in front of the United States Patent and Trademark Office can typically cost $5,000 to $15,000. Lincoln Law School’s students, supervised by a faculty practitioner, will offer such advice for free.
California government examined the program and hopes that it will stimulate the economy by helping those who may not have the funds to hire an intellectual property attorney get their ideas into the market. Joseph Moless, dean of Lincoln Law School, added, “If someone becomes a millionaire, first I’d say, ‘Congratulations.’ Then I’d say, ‘Remember your roots, and donate to the law school.’”
The school, located in the Silicon Valley area, is expecting a slew of visitors to the clinic. One out of every eight registered patents is created in Silicon Valley, and the area is known as the nation’s top producer of patents. All services will remain confidential, which is a comfort to inventors, who keep their ideas under wraps as long as possible.
Students are also excited about the clinic, which will help them gain practical experience in a real attorney-client setting. In addition, the students will gain experience working with the patent office, which will be opening a satellite branch at the City Hall a few blocks from the law school. The satellite office will be the area’s first permanent patent and trademark office.
Although Lincoln Law School is not accredited by the American Bar Association, it is accredited by the State Bar of California. The school had a 61 percent passing rate last year on the California bar exam. Patent and trademark employees were impressed with the school’s credentials, especially the intellectual property curriculum and faculty. IBM’s in-house counsel, Bryan Butler, serves on the faculty at the school.
Britten Sessions will serve as the director of the clinic. Sessions has practiced patent law and has a science-based background. He has much experience with the patent office filing patents and applications. He’s currently working on a startup named Pakooka, which is based upon “super-cute, truly personalized learning experiences for your child.” He was expectedly tight-lipped about the specifics of the product.
Chien Wei Huang, a San Jose resident, is planning to attend the clinic because he “definitely need[s] an attorney.” Huang has an idea related to “mobile computing” and “adding to your cell phone,” but wouldn’t reveal any more about his potential invention. The students at the clinic will no doubt be of great benefit to Huang’s mysterious idea.
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Photo credit: campus.lawmaker.com