Online course in patent law may benefit paralegals

Online course in patent law may benefit paralegals

Overall employment of paralegals is projected to increase by 28 percent over the next eight years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In order to prepare more adults for careers in this industry, the University of California, Irvine Extension recently announced that it will offer a new online course in this field.

The program, called Patent Law and Procedure: Preparation, Prosecution and Beyond, will be available in the fall of next year. Coursework is designed to benefit paralegals, chief executive officers, chief technical officers, entrepreneurs, inventors, attorneys and professionals who manage the patent application process for a company.

"Companies need to be aware of the consequences of not having the right protections in place for new technologies and innovations," said Tom Pokladowski, program director of UC Irvine Extension's paralegal and legal programs.

The curriculum for this program focuses on the fundamentals of patent law, emerging issues in the field in domestic and international forums, pitfalls to avoid while prosecuting a patent applications as well as preparing replies to rejected applications.

By Mark Danson