Tech and GSU to Highlight IP Careers

Georgia Tech’s Center for Career Discovery and Development and Georgia State University's School of Law are teaming up to present the 2016 Intellectual Property Career Showcase. Intellectual property (IP) includes a series of four protections for any new idea, innovation, or knowledge: patents, trade secrets, copyrights, and trademarks.

“The showcase is an opportunity to learn about the career field of intellectual property and a chance to meet professionals who are working in the field,” said Pre-Teaching and Pre-Law Advisor Susan Belmonte of Tech’s Center for Career Discovery and Development.

The IP Career Showcase will be held Wednesday, Oct. 26, from 2 to 7:30 p.m., at the Bill Moore Student Success Center. The event will be a series of panel sessions that highlight a different sector of intellectual property. Attendees do not have to come for the entire event. A reception after the event will give attendees time to chat with the presenters. Registration for the event is closed due to popular demand. Those who did not register but are interested in attending may come to the registration desk on the day of the event in case of cancellations, however admittance is not guaranteed.

IP professionals in government, corporations, universities, and private practice will discuss the variety of IP career options, including those that require a law degree and others that do not. Patent agents and patent examiners often have degrees in mechanical, electrical, or computer engineering, or computer science, and there are many opportunities for those with doctorates in science fields.

“Many engineering and science students are looking for alternative ways to use their skills, but they are either not aware of the various types of IP careers out there or do not know how to get started,” said Brian Giles, a patent attorney with Meunier Carlin & Curfman, LLC. “The IP Career Showcase was created to fill this need.”

Atlanta is fast becoming a national leader in IP, a key in today’s knowledge economy.

“I think Atlanta is a leader in having a total, coordinated effort in terms of IP offerings and, really, a combined IP package,” said Scott Frank, president and CEO of Atlanta-based AT&T Intellectual Property, who oversees IP for the telecommunications giant.

The state’s universities, particularly Georgia State University and Georgia Tech, are driving Atlanta’s emergence as an IP powerhouse. For the IP Career Showcase, the two universities are partnering to leverage their complementary strengths.

The state’s universities, particularly Georgia State University and Georgia Tech, are driving Atlanta’s emergence as an IP powerhouse. Georgia State has a number of world-renowned IP programs. Georgia Tech leverages IP through the Georgia Tech Research Institute and other programs, including the TI:GER [Technological Innovation: Generating Economic Results] Program from Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business's.