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The weird eligibility requirements for the patent bar also encourage this stuff. Computer scientists are only eligible if they have an undergrad degree from an

The weird eligibility requirements for the patent bar also encourage this stuff. Computer scientists are only eligible if they have an undergrad degree from an ABET-accredited program. This rules out people coming from AI powerhouses like CMU and Stanford, as well as Princeton, Yale, etc. Masters and doctoral degrees also don’t count, which is baffling since a PhD involves reading a huge chunk of the literature. The whole process is centered around 1960s “mechanical engineering as the source of all innovation” ideas and seems like it needs a massive update.

pnw_hazor 7y ago
There are alternative means to qualify if you do not have an automatically qualifying degree.
tzs 7y ago
There are a couple of other routes to eligibility. One is by having sufficient coursework in various categories, even if you degree itself was not one they recognize. There are four options if you do it this way. They are 24 semester hours in physics; or 32 semester hours that includes 8 hours of either physics or chemistry and 24 hours in biology, botany, microbiology, or molecular biology; or 30 hours in chemistry; or 8 hours of either chemistry or physics and 32 hours in chemistry, physics, biology, botany, microbiology, molecular biology, or engineeing. Under that last option, computer science courses count. The other route in is by taking and passing the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) test. I was once seriously considering becoming a patent agent, but my degree is in math (Caltech, class of '82) which is not on the PTO's list of acceptable degrees, and so looked into these other routes. The main issue with the coursework route for me was that when I was there Caltech graded all first year courses pass/fail, and the PTO does not count courses taken pass/fail. That knocked a year of physics, a term of physics lab, a year of chemistry, and a year of chemistry lab out of the running. The FE test route looked quite reasonable. This was a long time ago, and I believe they have changed the format of the test since then, but when I was looking it looked like it would have taken maybe a month or two of spare time prep.
- mattkrause 7y ago
  Yeah, I could certainly cram for the FE exam, though only a few states let anyone sit for it. Likewise, it wouldn’t be impossible to take two semesters of chemistry at some community college. Still, this seems like a massive, unnecessary effort to establish that your Caltech degree, or my Yale one, are at least as good as one from DeVry Tech.

pnw_hazor 7y ago

There are alternative means to qualify if you do not have an automatically qualifying degree.

tzs 7y ago

There are a couple of other routes to eligibility. One is by having sufficient coursework in various categories, even if you degree itself was not one they recognize. There are four options if you do it this way. They are 24 semester hours in physics; or 32 semester hours that includes 8 hours of either physics or chemistry and 24 hours in biology, botany, microbiology, or molecular biology; or 30 hours in chemistry; or 8 hours of either chemistry or physics and 32 hours in chemistry, physics, biology, botany, microbiology, molecular biology, or engineeing. Under that last option, computer science courses count. The other route in is by taking and passing the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) test. I was once seriously considering becoming a patent agent, but my degree is in math (Caltech, class of '82) which is not on the PTO's list of acceptable degrees, and so looked into these other routes. The main issue with the coursework route for me was that when I was there Caltech graded all first year courses pass/fail, and the PTO does not count courses taken pass/fail. That knocked a year of physics, a term of physics lab, a year of chemistry, and a year of chemistry lab out of the running. The FE test route looked quite reasonable. This was a long time ago, and I believe they have changed the format of the test since then, but when I was looking it looked like it would have taken maybe a month or two of spare time prep.

mattkrause 7y ago
Yeah, I could certainly cram for the FE exam, though only a few states let anyone sit for it. Likewise, it wouldn’t be impossible to take two semesters of chemistry at some community college. Still, this seems like a massive, unnecessary effort to establish that your Caltech degree, or my Yale one, are at least as good as one from DeVry Tech.