The Law School Clinic Certification Program includes over 60 participating law school clinics that provide legal services pro bono to the public, including to inventors, entrepreneurs, and small businesses. Participating law school clinics provide patent and/or trademark legal services to qualified members of the public who are accepted as a client of a clinic. Each participating law school has requirements for accepting new clients and accepts new clients at their discretion.
Get help from a law school clinic
Students enrolled in participating law school clinic certification programs practice intellectual property law before the USPTO under the strict guidance of a law school faculty clinic supervisor. Students practice both patent and trademark law before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The Office of Enrollment and Discipline administers the program; the Director of the Office of Enrollment and Discipline grants the law students limited recognition to practice before the USPTO.
Students gain experience drafting and filing either patent applications or trademark applications for clients of the law school clinic. Further, as they are authorized to practice before the USPTO, they gain experience answering office actions and communicating with either patent examiners or trademark examining attorneys for the applications they have filed.
To get help, contact a participating law school clinic through their email address provided below.
Participating law schools
The following law schools participate in the USPTO Law School Clinic Certification Program. Please contact the school at the listed e-mail address to make general inquiries or request legal services.
**Acceptance as a client is
subject to the law school's
requirements and discretion
Participating law schools | Contact Information | IP practice area | Geographic area** (from which the law school may accept clients) |
---|---|---|---|
American University, Washington College of Law | ipclinic@wcl.american.edu | Patents and Trademarks | District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia only |
Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law |
| Patents and Trademarks | All United States |
Baylor Law School | iplawclinic@baylor.edu | Patents and Trademarks | All United States |
Boston College Law School | tarrants@bc.edu | Trademarks | Massachusetts only |
Brigham Young University Law School | ipclinic@byu.edu | Patents and Trademarks | Utah only |
Brooklyn Law School | BLIP@brooklaw.edu | Patents and Trademarks | All United States |
California Western School of Law | TrademarkClinic@cwsl.edu | Trademarks | All United States |
Case Western Reserve University School of Law | lawclinic@case.edu | Patents and Trademarks | Northern Ohio only |
Columbia Law School | Contact Link | Trademarks | New York State |
DePaul College of Law | businesslawclinic@depaul.edu | Trademarks | Chicago Metropolitan Area of Illinois |
Emory University School of Law | lawpatentclinic@emory.edu | Patents | Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina |
Gonzaga University School of Law | ipclinic@gonzaga.edu | Patents and Trademarks | All United States (preference to Washington state) |
Howard University School of Law | iptrademarkclinic@howard.edu (trademarks) howardpatentipclinic@gmail.com (patents) | Trademarks | All United States District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia only |
Indiana University Maurer School of Law | ipclinic@indiana.edu | Patents and Trademarks | Indiana only |
Indiana University McKinney School of Law | Contact Link | Patents and Trademarks | Indiana only, exceptions for those with ties to Indiana |
Lewis & Clark Law School | sblc@lclark.edu | Patents and Trademarks | Oregon only |
Liberty University School of Law | ipclinic@liberty.edu | Trademarks | Virginia only |
Lincoln Law School of San Jose | ipclinic@lincolnlawschool.edu | Patents and Trademarks | All United States |
Mitchell Hamline School of Law | sue.mcbrayer@mitchellhamline.edu | Patents and Trademarks | Upper Midwestern United States only (Patents) All United States (Trademarks) |
New York Law School | ptoclinic@nyls.edu (patents) trademarkclinic@nyls.edu (trademarks) | Patents and Trademarks | All United States |
North Carolina Central University School of Law | ipclinic@nccu.edu | Patent and Trademarks | All United States |
Northeastern University School of Law | ipclinic@northeastern.edu | Trademarks | Massachusetts |
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law | elc@law.northwestern.edu | Trademarks | Illinois only (preference to Chicago, Illinois area) |
Oklahoma City University School of Law | eclinic@okcu.edu | Patents and Trademarks | Oklahoma only |
Penn State Law, The Pennsylvania State University |
| Patents and Trademarks | Pennsylvania only |
Roger Williams University School of Law | bsuc@rwu.edu | Trademarks | Rhode Island and surrounding States only |
Rutgers Law School |
| Trademarks | All United States |
Seattle University School of Law | TrademarkClinic@Seattleu.edu | Trademarks | Washington, Alaska, Montana, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming |
South Texas College of Law Houston | patent@stcl.edu (patents) trademark@stcl.edu (trademarks) | Patents and Trademarks | Texas and Louisiana only (Patents) All United States (Trademarks) |
Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law | patentclinic@smu.edu (patents) trademarkclinic@smu.edu (trademarks) | Patents and Trademarks | Dallas-Forth Worth, Texas and Northern Texas on a limited basis |
Southern University Law Center | info@sulctech.org | Patents and Trademarks | Louisiana only |
Suffolk University Law School | clinical@suffolk.edu | Patents and Trademarks | Massachusetts |
Syracuse University College of Law | trademarks-cdlc@syr.edu | Trademarks | Upstate New York only |
Texas A&M University School of Law | patc-info@law.tamu.edu (patents) tmc-info@law.tamu.edu (trademarks) | Patents and Trademarks | Texas only |
Texas Southern University, Thurgood Marshall School of Law | Bethew.Jennings@TSU.edu | Trademarks | Texas |
The George Washington University School of Law | iptl_uspto_intake@law.gwu.edu | Patents and Trademarks | All United States |
Thomas Jefferson School of Law | PatentClinic@tjsl.edu (patents) TrademarkClinic@tjsl.edu (trademarks) | Patents and Trademarks | San Diego, Imperial and Riverside Counties, California (Patents) San Diego County, California (Trademarks) |
UIC Law School | law-patentclinic@uic.edu (patents) law-tmclinicinfo@uic.edu (trademarks) | Patents and Trademarks | All United States (preference to Illinois and Midwest states) (Patents) All United States (Trademarks) |
UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law | ipclinic@law.unh.edu | Trademarks | All United States |
University of Akron School of Law | trademarkclinic@uakron.edu | Trademarks | All United States |
University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law | Law-IPClinic@list.arizona.edu | Patents and Trademarks | Arizona only |
University of California, Irvine School of Law | IPATintake@law.uci.edu | Trademarks | California only (preference to Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties) |
University of California, Los Angeles School of Law | uspto@law.ucla.edu | Patents | All United States (preference to Southern California) |
University of Colorado Law School | elawclin@colorado.edu | Patents | Colorado only |
University of Connecticut School of Law | iplawclinic@uconn.edu | Patents and Trademarks | Connecticut only |
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law | IPClinic@udmercy.edu | Patents and | Michigan, Ohio, and Ontario, Canada only |
University of Georgia School of Law | wtracy@uga.edu | Trademarks | Georgia |
University of Idaho College of Law | trademarks@uidaho.edu | Trademarks | Idaho |
University of Maryland School of Law | miplrc@law.umaryland.edu | Patents and Trademarks | Maryland and District of Columbia metro area only |
University of Miami School of Law | Startup@law.miami.edu | Trademarks | All United States |
University of Michigan Law School | trademarks@umich.edu | Trademarks | Southeast Michigan |
University of Nebraska College of Law | eclinic@unl.edu | Trademarks | Nebraska only |
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law | ipclinic@unc.edu | Trademarks | North Carolina only |
University of Oregon School of Law | Contact Link | Trademarks | Oregon only |
University of Pennsylvania Law School | DetkinIPTC@law.upenn.edu | Trademarks | Pennsylvania only |
University of Puerto Rico School of Law | Eugenio.torres@upr.edu | Patents and Trademarks | Puerto Rico only |
University of Richmond School of Law | Contact Link | Trademarks | Virginia and District of Columbia |
University of San Diego School of Law | eclinic@sandiego.edu | Patents and Trademarks | Southern California only |
University of San Francisco School of Law | lawclinic@usfca.edu | Patents and Trademarks | All United States |
University of Tennessee College of Law | bkrumm@utk.edu Clinicdocs@utk.edu | Trademarks | All United States |
University of Washington School of Law | elcinfo@uw.edu | Patents and Trademarks | Pacific Northwest, including Washington, Oregon, Idaho |
Vanderbilt Law School | legal.clinic@vanderbilt.edu | Trademarks | All United States |
Wake Forest University School of Law | lawiplc@wfu.edu | Trademarks | All United States |
Washington University in St. Louis School of Law | Contact Link | Patents and Trademarks | Missouri and Illinois residents only |
Western New England University School of Law | marie.fletcher@law.wne.edu | Trademarks | Greater Springfield Area of Massachusetts |
USPTO Law School Clinical Certification Program Participating School Map
2016 Report to Congress
As required by the United States Patent and Trademark Office Law School Clinic Certification Program Act (P.L. 113-227), the Office of Enrollment and Discipline of the USPTO submitted a report to Congress on behalf of the Director of the USPTO on December 14, 2016. This report fulfilled the requirements of the act by describing the number of law schools and law students participating in the Law School Clinic Certification Program, the work done through the program, the benefits of the program, and any recommendations for modifications to the program.
A copy of the Report to Congress can be found at:
2016 Law School Clinic Certification Program Report
Additional information
Questions regarding the program may be directed to the Office of Enrollment and Discipline:
Phone: 571-272-4097
E-mail: LawSchoolInformation@uspto.gov
See Frequently Asked Questions for more information.
Information for law schools
Design Patent Practitioner Bar
As of January 2, 2024, the Office of Enrollment and Discipline is accepting applications for the newly created Design Patent Practitioner Bar. Applicants should have a bachelor's, master's, or doctorate of philosophy degree in any of the following areas from an accredited college or university: industrial design, product design, architecture, applied arts, graphic design, fine/studio arts, or art teacher education, or a degree equivalent to one of the listed degrees.
Additional information can be found on the Design Patent Practitioner Flyer.
2020-2025 Expansion
Update: The United States Patent and Trademark Office has extended the time period for the Law School Clinic Certification Program to admit additional law schools to commence participation therein. Complete application submissions from interested law school clinical programs will be accepted on a rolling basis. The deadline for submitting an application is now July 7, 2025. Applications from interested law school clinics will be examined for admission into the program as they are received.
A copy of the application packet can be found at:
2020-2025 Law School Application Packet
Complete applications and requested materials should be sent to:
MAIL STOP OED
Office of Enrollment and Discipline
United States Patent and Trademark Office
ATTN: Law School Clinic Certification Program
P.O. BOX 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
Questions regarding the program, requirements, or the applications may be directed to the OED staff attorneys:
Emily Sprague, Gerard Taylor, Charlema Grant, Michael Nullet, Timothy Rooney, and Melanie Canter.
Email: LawSchoolInformation@USPTO.GOV
Phone: 571-272-4097
Additional information
Questions regarding the program may be directed to the OED staff attorneys:
Emily Sprague, Gerard Taylor, Charlema Grant, Michael Nullet, Timothy Rooney, and Melanie Canter.
Email: LawSchoolInformation@USPTO.GOV
Phone: 571-272-4097