College of Science Prepares Students for Intellectual Property

The College of Science will offer two intellectual property law courses in the spring as part of a program to let students earn a bachelor’s degree and law degree in six years.

In the second year of the agreement with the Richmond University School of Law, students with a 3.5 GPA who have completed their majors and taken enough science courses can apply to take COS 2984 (technology law and society) and COS 4984 (intellectual property and patent law).

The agreement, originally announced on May 11, 2006, allows students to apply to the Richmond University School of Law to study in the intellectual property program during their final year at Virginia Tech. The credits they earn during their first year at law school would transfer back to Tech.

Another perk of the program is that students will not have to take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), the test usually required for admittance to law school.

Joe Cowles, associate dean of science, and Susan Haymore, academic advisor in the College of Science, spoke to students about the program on Thursday in 190 Holden Hall at 6 p.m.

“Traditionally you don’t think of law as an option so much in science,” Cowles said. “We just want to make sure our students at Virginia Tech know that it is a career option. What this affords us is a chance to have a course taught here that people might be very interested in.”

Students who are not science or engineering majors can still apply for the program. They still must complete their major requirements, as well as several hours in science, before they can apply.

Haymore said that letters of recommendation also weigh heavily.

Intellectual property law tries to prevent people from profiting from the artistic and scientific creations of others. Patent law specifically deals with inventions or discoveries.

With online music downloading in the mix, intellectual property has become one of the fastest growing fields in law. Dozens of law schools worldwide now have intellectual property programs, according to the Master of Laws Programs Worldwide website.

“There’s no shortage of conflict in this whole area,” Cowles said.

The program gives science and engineering majors a path towards taking the patent bar exam. In order to take the exam, one must have a bachelor’s degree in science or engineering or have taken enough science credits (at least 24) in physics, chemistry or biology.