The 60-Year-Old Scientific Screwup That Helped Covid Kill

[Ms. Toad]

38. Likely the combination of attorney + science degree required.

There aren't a lot of those to start with, and it is very heavily dominated by men. I can't even begin to count the number of meetings I attended when I was the patent attorney, but whatever male accompanied me was assumed to be running the show.

Most CLE programs start with all IP together (trademark, copyright, patents). Only patents requrie a science degree (or equivalent hours). That half of the day is perhaps 60/40. The second half of the day we usually split. The patent section in the afternoon is the 9:1.

But - the disparity does occasionally have its advantages. I've occasionally had the fun of being on the wrong end of a patent infringement case involving computer code. I have to ferret out how our code works to make sure it isn't infringing on the patent being asserted against ours. So I always give them a chance to come clean - but before I do, I make sure I understand how the code works. The looks on their faces are priceless when they tell me it works a certain way, and I announce, "That's not how I read the code . . . "