Patent Program

Law School Registration
Law school registration for the 2023 Patent Law Interview Program is now closed. If you missed the registration window, please email law-patentprogram@luc.edu.

Student Registration & Fees
Online student registration will begin on February 14 and end on March 27 at 11:59 p.m. CST. There is a non-refundable registration fee of $50 per student. Please stress to your students the importance of registering by the deadline as we will not be able to accept any late student registrations. Every year we hear from disappointed students who miss the deadline. We ask for your help in publicizing this opportunity early and often! 

Contact Information
The Patent Law Interview Program staff can be reached at law-patentprogram@luc.edu.

Student Registration
Student registration for the 2023 Patent Law Interview Program will open on February 14 and will close on March 27. Please be mindful of the deadline as late registrations are not accepted.

Some schools cover the registration fee for their students, so be sure to check in with your career services office before registering.

Student Eligibility
Only law students are eligible to participate in the Patent Law Interview Program. Law graduates and practicing attorneys are not eligible to participate. It is not required that students be patent bar eligible to register for the program; however, many employers require patent bar eligibility as a qualification for applying for interviews, and most employers strongly prefer patent bar eligible students. For more information on eligibility for the patent bar, please refer to the General Requirements Bulletin from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

We are currently accepting registrations from:

• JD students graduating in May/June 2024 (Rising 3Ls)
• JD students graduating in May/June 2025 (Rising 2Ls)
• JD students graduating in December 2023/January 2024 (Rising 3Ls)
• JD students graduating in December 2024/January 2025 (Rising 2Ls)

Students who will graduate before the program is held in July 2023 and students who plan to graduate after May/June 2025 are not eligible for the 2023 Patent Law Interview Program.

How the Program Works

1. Student Registration: Students register for the program via the online registration form and pay the non-refundable $50 registration fee.
2. Accessing PIPER: Registered students are given an account for PIPER, the online system used to administer the Patent Law Interview Program.
3. Student Application Period: Students upload application materials, review participating employers and hiring criteria, and apply to employers.
4. Employer Selection Period: Employers review the materials submitted to them and select the students they wish to interview and alternate students to be scheduled in the event of cancellations.
5. Student Decision Period: Students access PIPER to see which employers, if any, have invited them to interview at the program or added them to an alternate list. During this time period, students are able to accept or decline each interview invitation and alternate status via PIPER.
6. Interview Schedules Created: PIPER generates interview schedules, which will be available on June 26.
7. Student Cancellation Period: Students who wish to cancel one or more of their scheduled interviews may do so from June 26 until July 16. During that time, PIPER will schedule students chosen by the employers as alternates into any interview slots opened up as the result of cancellation.

Contact Information
Please contact the Patent Program Liaison at your law school with any questions.

Employer Registration
Employer registration for the 2023 Patent Law Interview Program will begin on February 23 and will end on March 29. The registration link will be posted here on February 23.

How the Program Works

1. Employers register on PIPER: 
   Employers complete the online registration form. When registering, employers will sign up for one or more interview schedules on Thursday, Friday, and/or Monday and will also have the option to sign up for a Hospitality Suite. Additionally, employers will designate which offices they are interviewing for, which technical backgrounds they are interested in, and what their hiring criteria are. Employer registration will take place from February 23 - March 29, 2023.
   
2. Students submit their application materials:
   Participating law students see this information and have the opportunity to apply for interviews with participating firms by submitting their materials to up to 60 potential employers.
   
3. Employers select students to interview at the program:
   On May 3, employers will be able to see the application materials of all students who have applied to them. Our program is an entirely employer selected program – which means that employers choose all of the students they wish to interview based on student materials. After reviewing the materials, employers select 16 students per interview schedule and up to 16 alternates per interview schedule. Alternates are students to be added to the interview schedule in the event of any student cancellations. Employer selections must be submitted in PIPER by 11:59 pm CST on June 6.
   
4. Students accept or decline their interviews and alternate list spots:
   From June 12 - June 19, students will view their interview and alternate invitations in PIPER and will have the option to accept or decline each invitation. Students will be allowed to accept a maximum of 40 interviews. When an interview slot is declined by a student, that slot will be offered to a candidate on the firm's alternate list.
   
5. Interview schedules are created:
   Based on the students' decisions, interview schedules will be created and will be available on PIPER on June 26.
   
6. Employers attend the 2023 Patent Law Interview Program
   Interviews will take place on Thursday and Friday, July 20-21. Interview schedules run from 9:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Each interview is 20 minutes long with 5 minute breaks between interviews. There is a lunch break each day from 12:45 – 2:00 p.m.

Resume Collect

Employers who are not able to attend the program but wish to receive resumes from interested students can sign up for a resume collect. In response to an employer’s stated needs and hiring criteria, students submit application materials and the employer receives a PDF application packet. To request a resume collect, please register for PIPER and follow the prompts to post a job on our system.

Contact Information
The Patent Law Interview Program staff can be reached at Law-PatentProgram@luc.edu. 

The fees for the 2023 program (please note the interview rooms and suites do not include overnight accommodations):

• Program Registration Fee: $800
  The program registration fee is non-refundable.
• Interview Room/Schedule Fee: $600
  Each interview schedule can accommodate up to 16 candidates, and schedules can be organized based on geographic location, technical background or practice area.
• Hospitality Suite Fee: $700
  Employers interested in meeting with more than just the students they select for interviews often choose to host a hospitality suite for all students attending the program. The hospitality suite will be a corner king room adjacent to the employer's interview room(s). Employers typically bring one or more attorneys or recruiting professionals to staff the hospitality suite and interact with students in a more casual setting than an interview.
• Resume Collect Fee: $200
  Employers who are not able to attend the program but wish to receive resumes from interested students can sign up for a resume collect. In response to an employer’s stated needs and hiring criteria, students submit application materials and the employer receives a PDF application packet