Three years ago, I shifted my career path to become a Technology Manager in a Tech Transfer Office. This career shift required me to learn a great deal, especially about intellectual property and strategies for protecting innovations. While I gained general knowledge in patenting, I still felt I lacked a solid understanding of the fundamentals. Joining the Casimir Jones Patent Academy has been an enriching professional development experience. Lisa and Jeff provided thorough instruction on Patent Basics, Patent Drafting, and Patent Prosecution, delivering each topic with exceptional care and detail. One of the most valuable aspects of the class was the hands-on assignments. Drafting patent applications, responding to office actions, and receiving detailed feedback were transformative for my understanding of the patenting process. I am a firm believer in learning by doing, and this class provided that!

I got introduced to patent law through my colleagues that left academia to work for law firms as research specialists. During my graduate training, I was not taught how to translate our discoveries into a patent. I believe that the Casimir Jones Patent Law Academy provided me with an in-depth understanding of the fundamentals in patent law from claim language to responding to office actions from the USPTO.  We discussed real-world patent examples and the history of court cases that influence what is patentable in biotech.  I want to acknowledge Dr. Mueller’s efforts to educate the next generation of patent agents on the workflow of getting a patent approved and her firm’s commitment to increasing the diversity within this field.