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Thank You To LenzenIP
A hearty thank you to Nick Lenzen of LenzenIP for
donating patent drawing drafting services for the eight patent
applications drafted in the Patent Clinic!
About the Patent Clinic
The Patent Clinic was established at the University of Illinois College of Law in the spring of
2008 by Professor Barich in cooperation with the Technology Entrepreneur Center (TEC) at the University of Illinois College of Engineering. The prerequisite to participating in the Patent Clinic is completion of my Patent Prosecution class, where students learn the practical skills for drafting a patent application. In Patent Prosecution, all students draft a patent application relating to a single new innovation conceived by me.
Conversely, in the Patent Clinic, each law student has the opportunity to put their skills to practice by writing an individual patent application (under my supervision) for an undergraduate or graduate student invention. However, due to the fast pace and high level of competence required, participation in the Patent Clinic is only recommended for students who earned at least a B+ in Patent Prosecution. The Patent Clinic is currently only offered in the spring semester.
Most recently (spring 2010) we had eight law students participate. We worked with the Technology Entrepreneur Center (TEC) and
with participants in the Lemelson Innovation Competition and Cozad New
Venture Competition. From the dozens of innovations that were
considered, eight were selected (one per law student) and each law
student wrote a full patent application with regard to their chosen
innovation. The patent applications were then provided to the
inventors (although the inventors must resolve their rights with the Office of Technology Management before filing the patent application.)
In
our inaugural year (2008) we had six law students participate and we
drafted six full patent applications toward six innovations in cooperation with the TEC's Lemelson and Cozad Competitions. In our second year (2009), we had seven law students participate and we drafted seven full patent applications.
Next
year and we look forward to an even more successful semester hopefully
with even more law student and inventor participation.
2010 Patent Clinic Intro Presentation -
Presented Friday, January 22, 20102010 Patent Clinic Participation Agreement2010 Patent Clinic Closing Presentation -
Presented Friday, April 30, 2010
2010 Patent Clinic Closing Presentation Handouts | |
2010
Innovations
Patent applications drafted in 2010 concerned:
- Low-cost,
single-use blood panels and
affordable automated analysis devices that will provide diagnostic
solutions
for developing countries.
- A screen
impregnated with silver nanoparticles that keeps water fresh and
enhances the shelf-life of milk at ambient temperatures for people in developing countries.
- An apparatus
that aids in decision making and
learning using haptic qualities that allow the user to
engage in
the thinking process by permitting them to manipulate tactile
components.
- A no-VOC
whiteboard paint that allows the user to paint any surface to then use it as a white
board with
standard dry erase markers.
- A
new type of display that can
improve the brightness, grayscale/color depth, response and simplicity
of display
technologies.
- A new wheelchair with a
disc brake braking system and a hill assist function to help users
travel
uphill without rolling backwards.
- A
low-cost, multi-sensor,
liquid level system that can easily be used in industrial settings as
well as
field deployments such as monitoring precipitation, sea levels, wave
heights,
and groundwater levels in wells.
- A fully-integrated,
passive microfluidic
logic device.
2009 Innovations
Patent applications drafted in 2009 concerned:
- A video-related e-commerce system
- An improved solar-based water purifier
- A holography system
- A roof-based hydroponic system
- Improved materials for sporting equipment
- An e-commerce site for fashion management
- An internet security system
2008 Innovations
Congratulations to Pat Walsh!
Pat's
solar charged light product for use in impoverished rural India was one
of the six innovations that we wrote a patent application for during
the 2008 Patent Clinic. Pat is currently marketing his
product through his company Greenlight Planet. We wish Pat continued tremendous success!
The other patent applications drafted in 2008 concerned:
- Access assistance for quadriplegics
- An identification system for cancerous cells
- A lifesaving traffic safety device
- A microfluidic analysis laboratory tool
- A computer processing management system
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Comments From Law Students Participating in the Patent Clinic- [2010] Professor Barich was interested in student learning and very accessible both in class and out of class
- [2010] Appreciated sharing updates in law and regulations concerning patent prosecution.
- [2010] Prof. Barich is a great asset for us. I like the website joebarich.com. We appreciate all the time and effort he puts in. It has improved my career prospects greatly.
- [2010] I appreciate having real-world experience interacting with an inventor before entering patent practice.
- [2010] Joe knows patent law inside-and-out, always willing to explain the law in-depth. I gained great practical experience in patent law which prepared me even better for the outside world.
- [2010] Good practical class to further develop skills in patent prosecution. Learning how to proceed through the process with a real world inventor was very beneficial.
- [2010] Major strength of the professor is his practical experience that he imparts to his students. Working with the inventor and developing my own style in interacting with him and setting deadlines was very beneficial.
- Thanks for your dedication to teaching patent prosecution at the COL. I
feel I have a good foundation for my career thanks your classes. I want to leave
you with some feedback that you can share with the administration or put on your
website if you'd like. The Patent Clinic is a great asset to the COL and the university at
large. The COL may never be the #1 law
school in the country, or even Illinois, but I think it has the potential to
have the best Patent Clinic in the country, if it doesn't already. I hope the
administration takes advantage of this great opportunity to further boost the
COL's reputation. For my part, I look forward to telling my superiors at my New
York firm about the Patent Clinic at the COL.
- The clinic allowed me to develop my own style when interacting with an inventor.
I set deadlines, I conducted interviews, I followed up with emails. Prof.
Barich was there to provide guidance, but I felt primarily responsible; that was
why it was such an outstanding learning experience.
- I
must say that the Patent Clinic was a lot of fun. It was fantastic interacting
with my grateful inventor and meeting weekly in an informal setting
with awesome people. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks a ton!
- I'm
sure all share these sentiments - you are a significant asset to the
law program here at the U. I look forward to hearing about the future
development of the Patent Clinic. Thanks again.
- Just wanted to thank you for running this program. I enjoyed the experience.
- Thanks again for providing us with such a great experience with the Patent Clinic
and a great set of classes with both this and patent prosecution.
- Thanks again for everything, Joe! The Patent Clinic was a great experience.
- Hey,
also, I just wanted to say that I really appreciate everything you've
done for us these last two years. I think it is really generous of you
to spend so much of your time driving down to Champaign to invest in
us. You truly are a tremendous asset to this school and its students
and I hope that the administration here realizes this. In any case, I
just wanted to say that I appreciate all that I've been able to learn
from you. Thanks for everything.
Comments from Inventors Participating in the Patent Clinic- I would like to say thank you to both you and the students that made the clinic
possible. It's hard to believe that there are amazing programs such as the
patent clinic on campus. Without the program there is no way that a young
student start-up, such as ours, could possibly have gotten together a patent
application without the help of the patent clinic. Being able to say to
investors that we have worked with your program and are intending to file a
patent has been a tremendous asset recently, and will continue to be as we
mature as a company.
- I would also like to say that the quality of work
produced by the law students was amazing and that the particular student that we
worked with was very professional and knowledgeable. My partner and I were both
blown away by the final product.
- I've looked through the final patent application and am extremely happy with it! [Law Student's] ability to organize my scatterbrained descriptions into a thorough and strong application has been remarkable. I very much appreciate his work and this Patent Clinic program in general -- this has been an invaluable service.
- The patent application looks great! It has been a pleasure working with [Law Student] and indirectly working with you. Thanks much for your time and I appreciate being granted this opportunity!
- [Law Student] has done an absolutely outstanding job on this project
- I
wanted to thank you for the program and am satisfied/approve the patent
application prepared by [Law Student]. [Law Student] has been
extremely knowledgeable and I appreciate that you had me work with him.
- I commend the level of detail and [Law Student's] ability to translate the complicated information I gave him into a cohesive document. Thanks to both of you for your individual parts in this experience.
- I
will keep in touch and keep you posted with regard to my
entrepreneurial effort. It was a pleasure working with [Law Student]
and you. Thanks for the opportunity.
- woot!
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