What is the Harrity Academy™?

The Harrity Academy™ is a free program which introduces diverse participants to the field of patent law, provides exclusive training, practice materials, and mentorship, and teaches how to effectively and efficiently draft and prosecute high-quality patent applications. The goal of this program is to help increase the number of diverse candidates entering the patent field while enhancing the quality of their overall practice.

The Harrity Academy™ is comprised of three courses: Patent Basics, Patent Drafting, and Patent Prosecution. Courses will be broken into regularly scheduled online classes and include practice assignments, speakers, and one-on-one mentorship throughout the course duration.

Topics covered are as follows:

Patent Basics:

  • Introduction to Patent Law
  • Career Opportunities
  • Patent Drafting 101
  • Patent Prosecution 101
  • Panel Q&A

Patent Drafting:

  • Intro to Patent Drafting
  • What is a Patent Application
  • Understanding the Invention
  • Mock Disclosure Meeting
  • Prior Art Searching
  • Provisional Applications
  • Preparing Claims
  • Preparing Drawings
  • Preparing Title, Background, Summary, Description, Abstract
  • Preparing Introduction
  • Preparing Overview Description

Patent Prosecution:

  • 101 Rejections
  • 102 Rejections
  • 103 Rejections
  • Preparing for Examiner Interview
  • Mock Examiner Interviews
  • In-house Counsel Perspective

Why the Harrity Academy™?

The Harrity Academy™ is a Diversity & Inclusion Program implemented to help rectify the disparity of race and gender in the legal field. To do so, we are providing diverse candidates with tools and resources for success.

“We believe that the ‘practice of law’ is advanced by a more diverse legal team – with diversity of background, upbringing, education, and perspective comes quality legal innovation.” – John Harrity, Co-Founding Partner

Our Diversity Mission is to promote and nurture a respectful, highly engaged, family friendly, and inclusive culture that values the diversity of our talented team with all types of backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, skills/talents, and capabilities. The Harrity Academy™ is just one program we’ve implemented to promote this mission.

WE'RE LOOKING FOR MENTORS!

We’re looking for patent professionals to mentor our Harrity Academy™ participants! Sessions are conducted at the mentor’s availability throughout the course durations. Learn more below!

12100 +

Patents Obtained Since Founding

4750 +

Applications Drafted Last 3 Years

VIEW OUR PATENTS

Harrity USPTO Patent Cover

Enrolling in the Harrity Academy™

To enroll, you must meet the following requirements:

  1. You have or are obtaining a technical degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or equivalent fields from an accredited college or university;
  2. You are able and willing to commit to every scheduled class in the selected course;
  3. You are eligible to sit for the U.S. Patent Bar and reside in the U.S.;
  4. You are female and/or considered a minority in the legal field, pursuant to the Vault and Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) Guidelines [African-American/Black, Hispanic/Latinx, Alaska Native/American Indian, Asian, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Multiracial, Openly LGBTQ+, and/or Individual with Disabilities]

Why do I need a certain technical degree to participate?

In order to sit for the US patent bar and become a registered patent agent or attorney, an individual must have a Category A degree (or a proven equivalent) as defined by the USPTO. Of these degrees, Harrity specifically practices in the electrical & mechanical engineering spaces. Therefore, our training and practice assignments will not be relevant to an individual who has a STEM degree in the life sciences and wishes to practice in that area. Those without a Category A/STEM degree will not be able to sit for the patent bar.

I do not fall into a diverse category listed above. Can I still participate?

While we love to help all aspiring patent professionals, The Harrity Academy™’s main purpose is to encourage more diverse individuals to pursue careers in patent law by providing free resources and training and to ultimately improve diversity and inclusion of the patent bar to mirror that of society. However, we are happy to provide other materials to non-diverse individuals. Please email academy@harrityllp.com for more information.

Apply to the Harrity Academy™

Class Schedules

PATENT PROSECUTION COURSE – 8 WEEKS [MARCH-MAY 2024]

PATENT BASICS COURSE – 4 WEEKS [SEPTEMBER 2024]

PATENT DRAFTING COURSE – 8 WEEKS [OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2024]

All Harrity Academy™ Courses are held virtually on Tuesday evenings from 7:00 – 9:00 PM ET.

Questions or Feedback