My interest in IP begins with my background.\u00a0 I earned a degree in geological engineering<\/a> before pursuing a career as a civil engineer<\/a>, which means\u2026..\u00a0 I entered the field working at an architecture\/engineering firm in Chicago.\u00a0 Collaborating with a talented team of architects and engineers, we worked on projects throughout the U.S. \u2013 from the procurement process through the end of construction.\u00a0 As a civil engineer, I designed site (plots of natural or already constructed land) improvements for clients, implemented stormwater management solutions, and looked at A LOT of concrete mix designs and reports<\/a>.\u00a0 I know, it sounds like a bit of an ancient art form, and in many respects it is.\u00a0 But we also used modeling software and the latest stormwater management solutions to meet municipal requirements and satisfy our client needs.\u00a0 We typically used AutoCAD Civil3D<\/a> (link to an amazing project that relied on AutoCAD Civil3D) for our design and modeling needs.\u00a0 Once the general design was understood, we would consult product\/sales representatives<\/a> to ensure we were implementing the best stormwater products for our site constraints.\u00a0 More on this later.\u00a0 Overall, I had the opportunity to work on some awesome projects during my three years as a civil engineer.\u00a0 However, I often had another career idea in the back of my mind.<\/p>\n My Not-So-Surprising Journey to Law School<\/strong><\/p>\n After receiving my engineering degree I knew I wanted to work in the engineering field.\u00a0 At least for a few years.\u00a0 But, I always considered the prospect of attending law school. It\u2019s funny how growing up surrounded by lawyers can do that to you.\u00a0 I was always impressed by how gratified and dedicated they were to be making a difference and the respect they have for the rule of law.\u00a0 Often times family trips were organized around ABA<\/a> and Uniform Law Commission<\/a> events!\u00a0 That is what I ultimately gravitated towards when I decided to enter law school.<\/p>\n Once I decided to take the leap and pursue a career in law, there were two main criteria that I looked at for prospective schools.\u00a0 First, I wanted to stay in Chicago.\u00a0 Second, I wanted to find a school felt like the right fit where I could see myself enjoying the law school process.\u00a0 I wanted to find a sch<\/span>ool where I could see myself enjoying the three years of hard work and late nights with welcoming faculty and peers.\u00a0 I attended a meet and greet at <\/span>Loyola University Chicago School of Law<\/a> with current students and faculty and was amazed at how they described the school\u2019s culture and opportunities \u2013 particularly in the IP space.\u00a0 Specifically, I had the opportunity to speak with Loyola\u2019s Director of IP, Professor Ho, and she highlighted the IP legal writing course, IP Bytes (this wonderful blog), <\/span>Loyola\u2019s Intellectual Property Law Society<\/a>, and the vast amount of IP courses offered.\u00a0 I knew right away that I could see myself there for the next three years as soon as I went home that day.\u00a0 And that\u2019s how I ended up at Loyola!<\/span><\/p>\n Why Patent Law?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve always been interested in how things work.\u00a0 I\u2019ll leave you with a few examples.<\/p>\n These small curiosities have led me down endless rabbit holes of YouTube videos to learn why things work as they do.\u00a0 I can only think these curiosities are what has led me down this path to first work as a civil engineer to now being a law school student looking to get involved in the patent law field.\u00a0 From the seemingly most minute inventions to the inventions that can change the world, the applicant for a patent must provide the technical details to be granted exclusive rights.<\/p>\n As a 1L, I\u2019ve had the opportunity to get some exposure to IP law.\u00a0 I\u2019m currently in two IP classes: Global Access to Medicine \u2013 A Patent Perspective<\/a> and Loyola\u2019s IP Legal Writing Section.\u00a0 Both classes have made me start thinking about how my past career is related to IP. \u00a0\u00a0I\u2019ve learned that there are patents on the very products I became so familiar with as a civil engineer such as concrete<\/a>, admixtures<\/a>, and sustainable stormwater management<\/a>.\u00a0 Though it may not be as technologically savvy as the new iPhone generation, the patents in my prior field not only incentivize those designing new products, but also advance society.\u00a0 The improved concrete mixtures and stormwater products are often designed to improve efficiency and sustainability better suiting our environment \u2013 important issues that must be addressed.<\/p>\n Was this all at the forefront of my mind entering law school? Of course not.<\/p>\n Those who assumed that I wanted to go into patent law were correct.\u00a0 My first year of law school has been a wonderful experience.\u00a0 From my professors, peers, and engaging classes, Loyola\u2019s culture has continued to impress me.\u00a0 I\u2019m excited to continue learning about IP law and stay tuned for more IP substantive posts from me in the fall!<\/p>\n Matt O’Boyle<\/em> \u201cI assume you want to go into IP or patent law then\u201d<\/p>\n \u2013 Everyone.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the typical response I receive after introducing myself, a former engineer turned law student.\u00a0 Yes, that assumption for the most part is true. \u00a0Here\u2019s a little bit about the beginning of my journey into IP law. Continue reading An Indirect, Yet Unsurprising Path To IP Law \u2013 My Journey<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":2566,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[355],"class_list":["post-2532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-why-loyola","tag-why-loyola"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ipbytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ipbytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ipbytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ipbytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ipbytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2532"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ipbytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4511,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ipbytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2532\/revisions\/4511"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ipbytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ipbytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ipbytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ipbytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/ipbytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Chicago-photo.jpg\")
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\nAssistant Blogger<\/em>
\nLoyola University Chicago School of Law, J.D. 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"