Emory University School of Law will open a new IP and Innovation Clinic in August that is certified through the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The pro bono clinic is the first of its kind in Georgia and one of only three certified this year by the USPTO. 

The IP and Innovation Clinic will allow students to practice before the USPTO prior to taking the patent bar exam. The second- and third-year Emory Law students will be able to meet with and counsel clients going through the patent process. The students will then draft and prosecute patent applications and related documents while interacting with the USPTO. Clients will also benefit as the USPTO will allow a certain number of cases to be designated to be reviewed at a quicker pace so students will see the outcome of their work. 

The cohort designated to start in the fall comprises third-year students only and is at capacity. Margo Bagley, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law and the clinic’s faculty director, says, “I am thrilled to have the support of the USPTO in making this opportunity available to our students. This clinic will add to the robust education in intellectual property topics that we make available at Emory Law. Also, by partnering with the wonderful Georgia Lawyers for the Arts/Georgia PATENTS pro bono program and only accepting clients from ones they have previously vetted, we can launch the clinic in a fiscally prudent way.”

The clinic will mainly work with inventors from underrepresented groups to gain legal protection for their inventions. Clients will be referred to the clinic by Georgia Lawyers for the Arts, and students will work in partnership with local patent attorneys, including dedicated instructors and mentors from Ballard Spahr LLP and faculty supervisor for the clinic, Lisa Beyer Sims, an adjunct professor – and 2004 Emory Law grad – who is a director of intellectual property transactions at Cisco Systems, Inc.

“This for-credit clinic will provide Emory Law students an opportunity to experience first-hand the process of assisting clients in taking an idea from the beginning stages of conception to an issued patent,” says Sims. “This opportunity for our students to work within the patent process ahead of taking the patent bar will give them invaluable experience prior to launching their patent careers.”

The IP and Innovation Clinic will also be a bridge to future collaborations with the new Southeastern USPTO Regional Office scheduled to open in Georgia in 2025.