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If you’re interested in becoming a patent lawyer, read on to learn more about the best intellectual property law schools in the nation.
When you think of lawyers, you likely think of gavels and rows of jury seats, not the Adidas stripes.
Yet, the Adidas stripes caused one of the largest trademark infringement cases in history. In a seven-year-long case, Adidas claimed Payless duplicated their iconic three-stripe design on roughly $400 million worth of shoes. Adidas ultimately won and was granted a whopping $300 million for the case.
Cases like this are what intellectual property lawyers are responsible for – protecting creative ideas and inventions.
If this type of law interests you, it’s important you join a top intellectual property law school to maximize your chances of fighting high-profile cases like the Adidas one! This guide will go over the nation’s best law schools for intellectual property.
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To give you a variety of options to choose from, here are the top 12 law schools for intellectual property law.
UC Berkeley comes in first place for Intellectual Property Law. At this law school, JD students can choose intellectual property as their focus of study and begin developing a specialty in it.
Considering its high ranking, UC Berkeley is selective. With an acceptance rate of 13.7%, applicants must maintain high GPAs and LSAT scores to be considered competitive. The median GPA of accepted students is 3.83, and the median LSAT score is 169.
Tuition costs $59,306 a year for residents and $67,816 for non-residents.
Stanford always makes an appearance when the best law programs are discussed, and their intellectual law program, formally called Law, Science and Technology, is no exception. This program ranks second in the nation and focuses on US high-tech intellectual property law issues.
With a highly selective acceptance rate of only 6.7%, Stanford aims to admit only the best candidates. Proving their high expectations, the median GPA of accepted students is 3.91, and the median LSAT score is 172.
Tuition at this school costs $64,350 a year.
NYU Law ranks third in Intellectual Property Law. This school allows students to study a large variety of innovations and technology. In fact, two NYU professors even published a paper on and currently teach the copyright laws of memes.
Only 14.5% of all law applicants are admitted to NYU. These accepted applicants have a median GPA of 3.86 and a median LSAT score of 172.
As the most expensive law school on this list, NYU costs $73,216 a year in tuition.
As the underdog on this list, Santa Clara ranks 133rd in the nation as a law school but fourth in the nation for Intellectual Property Law! It has one of the largest intellectual property curriculums in the country, allowing students to create highly personalized courses of study.
For students with low GPAs or LSAT scores but high hopes of becoming intellectual property lawyers, Santa Clara may be a perfect choice!
This school has an optimistic acceptance rate of 53.3%! Prospective students should aim to have a GPA between 3.18-3.62 and an LSAT score between 155-160.
Santa Clara law students pay around $56,448 to $60,480 a year for tuition.
The fifth Best Intellectual Property Law Curriculum in the nation belongs to George Washington University. With an established Master’s of Patent Law program dating back to 1895, GW Law has been a leader in intellectual property education for more than a century.
This established school has an acceptance rate of 21.6% and has high expectations of its prospective students. Accepted applicants have a median GPA of 3.83 and a median LSAT score of 167.
Tuition for this university costs about $67,380 a year.
Another one of the best law schools for intellectual property is Texas A&M University. Ranking sixth in the nation, this school offers JD students the opportunity to concentrate in intellectual property and has various clinics to give students hands-on experience with patent, business, and copyright cases.
Texas A&M has an acceptance rate of 18.4%, a median GPA of 3.84, and a median LSAT score of 163.
Texas A&M is one of the cheapest universities on this list, with tuition costing $32,634 for residents and $48,618 for non-residents.
Tying for sixth place with Texas A&M is the University of Houston’s Institute for Intellectual Property and Information Law. UH offers approximately three dozen intellectual property-related courses for its law students.
With a promising acceptance rate of 30.8%, this school is easier to get into than the majority on this list. Students interested in attending this school should aim for a GPA between 3.37-3.76 and an LSAT score between 159-163.
UH tuition costs around $34,930 a year for residents and $49,748 for non-residents.
The Washington College of Law at American University ranks eighth as the Best Intellectual Property Law School and has over 40 intellectual property courses for students to choose from.
This law school accepts 27.9% of its applicants and expects them to have a GPA of around 3.57 and an LSAT score of 161.
As the least expensive law school on this list, tuition costs $27,786 at American University (Washington).
Tying for eighth place as the Best Intellectual Property Law School is the University of New Hampshire. As an intellectual property powerhouse, this school is known to land students jobs at some of the largest law firms in the country.
With an acceptance rate of 49.7%, a median GPA of 3.5, and a median LSAT score of 158, interested students have a high chance of gaining admission to this school.
New Hampshire residents pay $40,000 a year for tuition, and non-residents pay $47,000.
As another eighth-place university, Yeshiva University is another excellent option to consider for intellectual property law. Yeshiva has one of the most robust intellectual property programs in the country that focuses on emerging technology, data, privacy, fashion, and entertainment laws.
Yeshiva has an acceptance rate of 30.8% but holds all applicants to high standards. Accepted applicants have a median GPA of 3.74 and a median LSAT score of 164.
This school’s prestige is also reflected in its high tuition costs of $67,792 per year.
Boston University’s intellectual property program ranks 11th in the nation. To give students the chance to pursue all of their intellectual property interests, Boston offers a diverse set of interdisciplinary courses, including one on artificial intelligence and machine learning!
This school only accepts 18.3% of all applicants. These applicants have a median GPA of around 3.77 and a median LSAT score of 169.
Like many other schools on this list, attending Boston University is an investment. Tuition alone costs $61,160 a year.
The final law school on this list is Duke University, which ranks twelfth in the nation for Intellectual Property Law. As a consistent top-ranking school for various fields of law, Duke provides students with a rigorous education in a collaborative, supportive, and diverse environment.
With an acceptance rate of only 14.4%, a median GPA of 3.82, and a median LSAT score of 170, this university is highly competitive.
Duke is also one of the most expensive law schools to attend, with tuition costing $71,100 a year.
Are you having trouble deciding which law schools to apply to for intellectual property law? Don't worry, we've got you covered! Take our quiz to receive a personalized list of law schools that match your needs and preferences.
If you have any remaining questions about the best intellectual property law schools, read on to find your answers!
UC Berkeley is the best law school for intellectual property.
Many universities allow you to concentrate on intellectual property law during your JD or get a certificate in this type of law. You may also complete an LLM in Intellectual Property.
Yes! Not only is this job always in demand, but it has high earning potential. In fact, CNN named it one of the top-paying jobs in America. Patent lawyers have a median salary of $175,000.
Santa Clara University is the easiest law school to get into as it has an acceptance rate of 53.3%!
Stanford is the hardest law school to get into. It only accepts 6.7% of all applicants.
You’ll need a GPA between the range of 3.18-3.91 to get into a top-ranking law school.
Once you’ve chosen the perfect law school to begin pursuing your dreams of fighting large infringement cases, Juris’ team of experts can help you create an impeccable application to make your dreams a reality!
