Shields

We had a brief overview of what we’re going to be learning over the next eight months. I must be a law geek at heart, because I was really salivating to get into it all.

Instead, however, we did some team building exercises. The old “Make a shield/coat of arms that…” thing. I was surprised that we were doing it, and I do have to say that I wanted to get into some real learning. A lot of places do icebreakers/team-builders, though, so I suppose it isn’t too odd.

Later on, however, we got our first “examination project.” We were given some basic information on 35 USC 101,102, 103, and 112, along with an abandoned patent and some possible prior art patents. The goal was to have us work as teams and to “struggle.” That is, with no guidance from our trainers, we were supposed to try to interpret the statutes. And yes, one of the stated objectives was that we would observe that different people could read the same words differently, which was certainly evident.

I have to say, I really, really enjoyed it. This is why I’m here… to learn the law and procedures, and to become as good of a patent examiner as I can be. It is fun to read patents, examine the language carefully, and see how the law would apply. I don’t know why… it just is.

Anyway, tomorrow we will have to defend our “office actions” in an attorney interview. Should be fun.

~Relativity