The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) hosted the final round of the National Patent Application Drafting Competition (NPADC) on April 14 at USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.

The winners are:

First place – The George Washington School of Law

Second place – University of Southern California Gould School of Law

Third place – University of Detroit Mercy

Fourth place – University of Missouri – Kansas City

Fifth place – University of Wisconsin Law School

Over the past few months, competitors have honed their patent application drafting, amending, and prosecution skills. The competition narrowed from 55 to the top five teams, who met at USPTO headquarters on April 14 to present to our panel of judges. In addition to gaining practical experience they will use in their future careers, the students had the opportunity to interact with leaders in the intellectual property community.