Apply to Compete in the 2024 USPTO National Patent Application Drafting Competition by Oct. 13. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) invites law students and students studying patent law to participate in the 2023 National Patent Application Drafting Competition (NPADC). The competition introduces students to issues arising in U.S. patent law and develops their patent application drafting and prosecution skills.
Student teams will receive a hypothetical invention statement for which they will search the prior art, prepare a specification, draft claims, and present their reasoning for patentability before a panel of judges comprised of patent examiners, practitioners, and other members of the intellectual property (IP) community.
The competition will take about 30 to 50 hours over the course of the fall and spring semester: prior art searching, patent drafting & revision, presentation, prep, and runtime. Prior experience is helpful, but not required. You do not have to be patent bar eligible.
Benefits according to a past participant: “If you are remotely interested in patents, it is worth it. It’s a great way to decide if patent prosecution is the career for you and what better way to learn about drafting patents than actually doing it. There are phenomenal networking opportunities, invaluable team building, and it’s a great resume builder.”
Students interested in being considered for the SCU 2024 USPTO Patent Drafting Competition team should complete this form by Oct. 13. Students should anticipate hearing from us by the end of October.
Apply online at https://forms.gle/dsWcebUXAyh7hmLU8.
