STARTUP LEGAL GARAGE: PATENT

Catalog description

The Startup Legal Garage course is a year-long, eight-unit course (2-unit class in the fall and 3 units of fieldwork per semester). The fieldwork component satisfies the experiential learning requirement. Students assist early-stage startups with patent matters, predominantly "freedom-to-operate" analyses that will help the startups focus their strategy and attract funding. Many of the companies in the program come from QB3, which is an incubator for startups developed from biotechnology inventions at UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz and UCSF. Student work preparing analyses of relevant patents is supervised by lawyers at leading law firms. This course helps students develop and apply transactional lawyering skills such as planning and management, client interviewing and counseling, navigating conflict of interest issues, and legal research. Students receive legal skills training related to those tasks and have the opportunity to present and discuss their fieldwork with the group. Students (rising 2Ls and 3Ls) must apply and be accepted into the program by the professors. The application process takes place in the spring prior to the registration period in July. As with other experiential courses, the course may be combined with other coursework and extracurricular activities, including, e.g., Moot Court, journals, and TA roles. Students are able to schedule their meetings and work time to fit their existing schedules. Students may consult with Professor Bazley with application or scheduling questions.