In our Capstone class this week, we wrote claims. Again. 😉

This week, the students wrote claims for coasters. You know, those things you put your drinks on when it’s humid outside. There are three coasters, each slightly different from the others; so the students broke into small groups and each group wrote a claim for a coaster.

Do you have a coaster handy? Pick it up, and notice how “simple” it is. Each of our coasters has a top layer (keeps the water off the table); and a bottom layer (keeps the coaster from slipping around on the table). Even as simple as our coasters are, it took over 30 minutes to write claims about them… and I think that was pretty efficient!

That’s what patent agents do. They have to thoroughly describe the invention. And that kind of thorough description doesn’t come easily. It has to be carefully thought out. And after that, the description has to be translated into the appropriate legal language to make the description into a claim that can be enforced against an infringer.

Week three is here, and on Friday our students have their first real assignment due for the Capstone classes. The Capstone is a year-long project, in which the students end up having written a real, complete, hopefully fileable patent application. Being able to write a patent application is one of the bread-and-butter activities of a patent agent; and a real asset to prospective employers.

The students’ deliverable this week is to write a synopsis of the technology that they’ll be working on for the rest of the year, including a list of features that are potentially patentable. They will use the synopsis in their Capstone class, as they start to write claims for the invention; and for the Searching class that Ron is teaching, to determine what is actually patentable in the disclosure they’ve chosen. I’m looking forward to learning more about all of these exciting technologies, which have been kindly donated by ND professors!

Also this week, we hosted an Open House so next years’ prospective students can learn more about the MSPL. Tom Mauch and Mike Wack (our faculty teaching both semesters of Patent Law; patent attorney and patent agent at BioMet) were kind enough to join us. If you missed this one, we’ll be hosting a couple more Open Houses this semester: in Chicago on Nov. 7; and on campus on Nov. 11. RSVP to Cathi Kennedy (ckenned7@nd.edu) if you want to come to either one — dinner is provided!

I didn’t remember to take a photo during the Open House, but I took this photo afterward. I’m still learning how to use all of the fun features on a relatively recently new phone!

Last night was the Fall Career Expo and Engineering Industry events here at Notre Dame. The MSPL had a booth at both events, and I got to meet quite a few students interested in careers as patent agents. Hopefully they will all join the MSPL in the next few years!

Today I have had a series of exciting meetings. Two of my big goals are getting the MSPL to Chicago and online for next academic year. Nothing is definite yet, but these meetings make me hope that I might be able to accomplish both of those things! Stay tuned for more details….