In 2025, Samsung Electronics had 7,054 patent grants in the U.S. alone. Apple Inc. had 2,277, and Google/Alphabet, Inc., received 1,782. And, it is estimated that more than 152,000 patent applications specifically related to artificial intelligence (AI) were recorded in the U.S. last year with Google, Microsoft, and IBM leading the charge. Add to that the thousands of innovators and researchers across the country filing individual patents every day, and it’s apparent why patent agents and patent attorneys are in high demand.
First the Patent Bar, Then the State Bar: Alumni Donation to Help Defer Costs for ILC Students
Syracuse University College of Law’s Innovation Law Center (ILC) received a gift from Rodney Ryan L’97 that will be used to officially establish a patent law program in summer 2026 to academically and financially assist students in preparing for the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) registration examination, commonly known as the patent bar. Passing the patent bar is a significant achievement as doing so gives students credentials to become a patent agent who can draft, file, and prosecute patent applications and is a necessary step to becoming a patent attorney.
To be eligible for the new program, students must have an undergraduate degree in science, engineering, or tech-related fields; complete required coursework and be actively engaged in the ILC.
For prospective students, the program represents a rare opportunity to enter the legal profession already credentialed as a patent agent and positioned for immediate career impact at law firms, corporations, and startups.
“We are very grateful for this gift, which will allow the ILC to formally establish a patent law program and reimburse students for the patent bar preparation and exam— removing a financial barrier that will open this opportunity to even more qualified students,” says Professor of Practice Brian Gerling L’99, executive director of the ILC.
“The program is designed so students will complete the patent bar exam well before having to study for state bar exams after graduation, while also giving them the opportunity to hone those skills as a patent agent during law school.”
The patent agent law program at the ILC will also assist early stage entrepreneurs through filing of provisional patent applications, thereby avoiding public disclosure bars or risking their ideas to commercial theft.
3Ls Work as Patent Agents at Local Law Firm
Carl Graziadei L’26 and Madison McCarthy L’26 are Syracuse Law students who helped pilot the idea for the formalized program. Both have already passed the patent bar and are currently working as senior research assistants at the ILC and part-time law clerks at local law firm Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC.
Graziadei earned an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering with a minor in electrical engineering at Clarkson University and passed the patent bar right out of college. When researching law schools that allowed him to mesh his engineering background with the legal field, he discovered Syracuse Law’s ILC.
“Professor Gerling is really the reason I decided on Syracuse, as he showed me how my engineering background would be a great fit for the ILC,” Graziadei explains. “He confirmed my belief that going into patent law was the right move and explained the demand was high, and the opportunities were endless in law firms, corporations, and startups.”
McCarthy studied biological sciences and neuroscience as an undergraduate at the University of Buffalo and also came to Syracuse Law with the goal of becoming a patent attorney. While working in the ILC, she passed the patent bar as a 2L.
Both excelled through the ILC, honing their research and writing skills, and building confidence communicating with actual clients, while also gaining experience through internships. Graziadei interned at Lallemand, a French company optimizing natural fermentation processes. McCarthy was an extern in patent litigation at Kiklis Law Firm, PLLC, in Virginia, which focuses on trials at the USPTO’s Patent Trials and Appeals Board, and a general counsel extern at Upstate Medical University.
“I fell in love with the faculty and the ILC because I had so much freedom and the chance to interact with entrepreneurs and innovators about their inventions through the law,” says McCarthy, who is currently editor-in-chief of the Syracuse Journal of Science and Technology Law.
As 3Ls, McCarthy and Graziadei are senior research assistants at the ILC helping 2Ls assist clients. Both are also working part-time at Bond, Schoeneck & King, using their skills as patent agents. They each have been offered positions as full-time associates at the firm upon graduating this spring.
“Because I am already a patent agent, I will be a licensed patent attorney once I pass the New York State bar, and the experience I have had through Syracuse Law has been incredible preparation,” says McCarthy. “I’m grateful to have found a program where I could combine my interests in science, innovation, and the law, and I look forward to what’s ahead.”