The Intellectual Property Concentration<\/a> brings together three core areas\u2014patent, copyright, and trademark. The highly ranked program benefits from BU Law\u2019s teaching and curricular strengths in intellectual property and matches these strengths against the significant need in Boston for intellectual property law specialists. The Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property & Cyberlaw Program<\/a>, consisting of two clinics launched in partnership with MIT, provides students of both institutions with opportunities to work together on business, intellectual property, and legal compliance issues.<\/p>\n David Shore (\u201919), Becky Simmons (\u201918), and Qian Ding (LLM\u201917) share their experiences as patent agents, their motivations for coming to law school, and how they expect their BU Law education will benefit their careers.<\/p>\n \u201cEven though I am constrained by the walls of a maze, there is something fascinating about it,\u201d Shore says. \u201cThere\u2019s an art to getting through and mastering it.\u201d<\/p>\n Shore, a patent agent with Choate Hall & Stewart LLP, is studying intellectual property at Boston University School of Law. At Choate, Shore works with clients to protect their innovative ideas. His academic background in biotech and genetics provides him with extensive scientific knowledge, but Shore says coming to BU Law and working at Choate have opened him up to an atmosphere where others are just as curious and passionate about the law as he is.<\/p>\n \u201cI came to BU because I wanted the full experience,\u201d Shore says. \u201cI wanted to be immersed with students who are grappling the same questions of law. I wanted to learn from and with people who are passionate\u2014I think BU is a fantastic place for that.\u201d<\/p>\n Shore’s interest in IP law stems from his love of writing. With the law, he is able to combine that love with his science background, as he helps clients develop patents for cutting-edge advancements in the biomedical field.<\/p>\n \u201cIn patent law, you go from knowing very little about a specific area of science or having never faced a particular legal question before to, in a very small period of time, being able to tackle that question coherently and persuasively,\u201d Shore says. \u201cPutting together the story, constructing clear language, making points, and proceeding through logical paths has always been something I\u2019ve enjoyed.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re always working on the cutting-edge of technology in IP law,\u201d Simmons says. \u201cYou\u2019re never working in just one tiny niche, since you\u2019re working on a lot of different cases at the same time. You also still get to interact with inventors and collaborate with them on what they\u2019re doing, and so you don\u2019t feel like you\u2019re totally divorced from your first love, which for me was chemistry.\u201d<\/p>\n For Simmons, earning a degree at BU Law is the next step to continue making a change in the patent world.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you go the patent agent track, you can never become a partner in the firm,\u201d she says. \u201cYou reach a maximum level after which you can\u2019t progress any higher. The BU Law degree will qualify me to litigate patent cases, which I couldn\u2019t do as a patent agent.\u201d<\/p>\n Simmons says studying at BU Law has given her a more complete picture of IP law, and allowed her to dive into areas that interest her. \u201cOne of the areas I really enjoy is trademark law,\u201d Simmons says. \u201cIt\u2019s an area that I want to become proficient in so that I can do it in my practice. Being given the appropriate classes at BU Law is one way in which I have found BU Law\u2019s faculty to have been very helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n As a working student and mother, Simmons appreciates the flexibility of the program, noting that faculty have been helpful in allowing her to adjust her schedule. \u201cThey\u2019ve been extremely supportive and accommodating of my work commitments as well as family commitments in terms of scheduling of classes and accommodations that were needed for certain programming,\u201d she says.<\/p>\nDavid Shore (\u201919), Patent Agent, Choate Hall & Stewart<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"David](\"\/law\/files\/2017\/01\/shore-david.jpg\")
For David Shore, laboratory research in biotech and genetics is like being immersed in a forest where there are multiple directions to take and the possibilities are endless. But the study of law, he says, is more like being in a maze.<\/p>\nBecky Simmons, PhD (\u201918), Patent Agent, Hamilton Brook Smith & Reynolds<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Rebecca](\"\/law\/files\/2017\/01\/Simmons-Rebecca.jpg\")
When Becky Simmons, a patent agent at Hamilton Brook Smith & Reynolds PC, realized that becoming a lab scientist wasn’t the right path for her, it opened up a lane to explore IP law. The field has allowed her to stay at the forefront of her first love: chemistry.<\/p>\nQian Ding (LLM in Intellectual Property Law \u201917)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Qian](\"\/law\/files\/2017\/01\/Ding-Qian.jpg\")
Qian Ding studied mechanical engineering and Japanese at Dalian University of Technology in China and is now a student in BU Law\u2019s