Biotechnology & Law

Increased interest in biotechnology, the pervasiveness of biotechnology products in daily life, and escalating numbers of patent filings and intellectual property infringement cases, has caused a high demand for lawyers with scientific/ technology backgrounds. Job opportunities, for individuals with both legal and scientific backgrounds, include work as a technical specialist or as a lawyer dealing in IP cases such as patent, copyright and trademark disputes. Many complications in establishing IP ownership can arise nowadays because of the sheer volume of patent claims being made and difficulty on the part of both researchers and regulating bodies, in keeping track of the specifics of, and ensuring the uniqueness of, each invention.An invention that has already been previously described in the literature, or something that has been on the market for years, cannot be patented, yet the filing party, or patent office, might not be aware of the pre-existing product. That's when the lawyers are called in; to examine the facts, decipher the legal jargon, establish precedence, and defend their cases in court.

Law firms are having a hard time finding individuals with a solid understanding of the technology behind many of these high tech cases. Expanding commercialism and the need to recover biotechnology investments and research funding through profits, has led to the invasion of the scientific domain by legal issues surrounding IP, access to research data and conflicts of interest. Although science may have done without lawyers in the past, there are now many important bioethics issues that must be dealt with in areas of environmental science, biotechnology, genetics and medical research.

Patent Law

A patent attorney is a lawyer who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing an opposition. A patent lawyer must also have an adequate scientific and technical background or education to understand a client's invention. The educational requirement can be met by a bachelor's degree in a specifically enumerated major, such as biology, computer science chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, physics, and biomedical, chemical, civil, electrical or mechanical engineering.