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This was one of the reasons I went to law school after getting a CS degree. I now practice law, focused on patent litigation. My experience generally has been
by bonyt 8y ago
This was one of the reasons I went to law school after getting a CS degree. I now practice law, focused on patent litigation.
My experience generally has been that the work is more varied, and there is more learning as opposed to mechanically doing.
Sometimes I get to deep dive into interesting technical topics. I’ve taken things apart and reverse engineered bits of software and worked with experts. Plus I am deeply fascinated by computer history, and sometimes I get to dive into that as well when looking for prior art.
On the other hand, some patents really suck and have claims that were clearly written by people who didn’t understand what they were writing about. Arguing over these requires you to almost suspend disbelief to operate in a world where the claims make sense.
- jeffreyrogers 8y agoI have been considering making a switch from software engineering to patent law. Are most patent lawyers employed by large law firms or is it common to work for yourself or in a small practice?
- bonyt 8y agoFor patent litigation (fighting out infringement claims in court), I'd say it's mostly done by large general practice firms and medium-to-small boutique firms that focus on IP. For patent prosecution (drafting of patent applications and advocating before the patent office to get them issued), there are some solo practitioners, and probably more small practices than there are for patent litigation, though the big firms do prosecution as well.