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Reviewed: 3/18/25
If you’re interested in becoming a patent lawyer, read on to learn more about the best intellectual property law schools in the nation.
When you think of lawyers, you likely think of gavels and rows of jury seats, not the Adidas stripes.
Yet, the Adidas stripes caused one of the largest trademark infringement cases in history. In a seven-year-long case, Adidas claimed Payless duplicated their iconic three-stripe design on roughly $400 million worth of shoes. Adidas ultimately won and was granted a whopping $300 million for the case.
Cases like this are what intellectual property lawyers are responsible for—protecting creative ideas and inventions.
If this type of law interests you, it’s important you join a top intellectual property law school to maximize your chances of fighting high-profile cases like the Adidas one! This guide will go over the nation’s best law schools for intellectual property.
To give you a variety of options to choose from, here are the top 12 law schools for intellectual property law.
UC Berkeley comes in first place for Intellectual Property Law. At this law school, JD students can choose intellectual property as their focus of study and begin developing a specialty in it.
Considering its high ranking, UC Berkeley is selective. With an acceptance rate of 17.3%, applicants must maintain high GPAs and LSAT scores to be considered competitive. The median GPA for matriculating students in 2024 was 3.87, and the median LSAT score was 170.
Tuition costs $63,196 a year for residents and $75,624 for non-residents.
Stanford always makes an appearance when the best law programs are discussed, and their intellectual law program, formally called Law, Science and Technology, is no exception. This program ranks second in the nation and focuses on US high-tech intellectual property law issues.
With a highly selective acceptance rate of only 8.85%, Stanford aims to admit only the best candidates. Proving their high expectations, the median GPA of 2024’s first-year class was 3.92, and the median LSAT score was 173.
Tuition at this school costs $74,475 a year.
NYU Law ranks third in Intellectual Property Law. This school allows students to study a large variety of innovations and technology. In fact, two NYU professors even published a paper on and currently teach the copyright laws of memes.
Only 16.67% of all law applicants are admitted to NYU. The entering 2024 class had a median GPA of 3.91 and a median LSAT score of 172.
NYU costs $79,954 a year in tuition.
As the underdog on this list, Santa Clara ranks 158th in the nation as a law school but fourth in the nation for Intellectual Property Law! It has one of the largest intellectual property curricula in the country, allowing students to create highly personalized courses of study.
For students with low GPAs or LSAT scores but high hopes of becoming intellectual property lawyers, Santa Clara may be a perfect choice!
This school has an optimistic acceptance rate of 66.3%! Prospective students should aim to have a GPA of at least 3.5 and an LSAT score of at least 158 to be considered competitive.
Santa Clara law students pay around $60,816 a year for tuition.
The fifth Best Intellectual Property Law Curriculum in the nation belongs to George Washington University. With an established Master’s of Patent Law program dating back to 1895, GW Law has been a leader in intellectual property education for more than a century.
This established school has an acceptance rate of 32.59% and has high expectations of its prospective students. The 2024 matriculants had a median GPA of 3.87 and a median LSAT score of 168.
Tuition for this university costs about $72,520 a year.
Another one of the best law schools for intellectual property is Texas A&M University. Ranking sixth in the nation, this school offers JD students the opportunity to concentrate in intellectual property and has various clinics to give students hands-on experience with patent, business, and copyright cases.
Texas A&M has an acceptance rate of 13.4%, a median GPA of 3.97, and a median LSAT score of 168, based on the 2024 matriculant data.
Texas A&M is one of the cheapest universities on this list, with tuition costing $32,634 for residents and $48,682 for non-residents.
As another sixth-place university, Yeshiva University is an excellent option to consider for intellectual property law. Yeshiva has one of the most robust intellectual property programs in the country that focuses on emerging technology, data, privacy, fashion, and entertainment laws.
Yeshiva has an acceptance rate of 37.54% but holds all applicants to high standards. The students who matriculated in 2024 had a median GPA of 3.80 and a median LSAT score of 164.
This school’s prestige is also reflected in its high tuition costs of $72,270 per year.
The Washington College of Law at American University ranks eighth as the Best Intellectual Property Law School and has over 40 intellectual property courses for students to choose from.
This law school accepts 39.78% of its applicants. To be considered competitive, you should have a GPA of around 3.65 and an LSAT score of around 162.
As the least expensive law school on this list, tuition costs $27,786 at American University (Washington).
Boston University’s intellectual property program ranks 8th in the nation as well. To give students the chance to pursue all of their intellectual property interests, Boston offers a diverse set of interdisciplinary courses, including one on artificial intelligence and machine learning!
This school only accepts 20.61% of all applicants. The 2024 matriculating class had a median GPA of 3.88 and a median LSAT score of 170.
Like many other schools on this list, attending Boston University is an investment. Tuition alone costs $66,670 a year.
Fordham Law ties for eighth place as well and is an excellent option to consider for those hoping to pursue intellectual property and information law. The program provides a strong foundation in both fields while offering the flexibility to customize your coursework to match your interests and career goals!
With an acceptance rate of 22.15%, this school is selective. Students should aim for GPAs of at least 3.8 and LSAT scores of at least 168.
Tuition to attend this school is $74,608 a year.
Tying for eighth place as well is the University of Houston’s Institute for Intellectual Property and Information Law. UH offers approximately three dozen intellectual property-related courses for its law students.
Houston Law has an acceptance rate of 28.44%. Students interested in attending this school should aim for a GPA of at least 3.8 and an LSAT score of at least 162.
UH tuition costs around $34,930 a year for residents and $49,748 for non-residents.
Last but certainly not least, as a T14 law school, is Columbia Law. With New York City as its backdrop, Columbia offers students access to top practitioners in fields like data privacy, copyright, and antitrust law.
The IP program provides hands-on learning through externships with organizations such as the Antitrust Bureau of the New York State Attorney General’s Office and Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.
Students also benefit from resources like the Kernochan Center for Law, Media, and the Arts, gaining insight into cutting-edge topics like AI, digital business law, and emerging media industries.
With a low acceptance rate of 11.75%, students will need to impress the committee to gain admission. Your scores are one way to do this! Aim for a GPA of around 3.93 and an LSAT score of around 174 to be considered competitive.
Tuition at this school costs $81,888, making it the most expensive in the country!
Are you having trouble deciding which law schools to apply to for intellectual property law? Don't worry, we've got you covered! Take our quiz to receive a personalized list of law schools that match your needs and preferences.
If you have any remaining questions about the best intellectual property law schools, read on to find your answers!
UC Berkeley is the best law school for intellectual property.
Many universities allow you to concentrate on intellectual property law during your JD or get a certificate in this type of law. You may also complete an LLM in Intellectual Property.
Yes! Not only is this job always in demand, but it has high earning potential. In fact, CNN named it one of the top-paying jobs in America. Patent lawyers have a median salary of $175,000.
Santa Clara University is the easiest law school to get into, as it has an acceptance rate of 66.3%!
Stanford is the hardest law school to get into. It only accepts 8.85% of all applicants.
You’ll need a GPA between the range of 3.5 and 4.0 to get into a top-ranking law school.
Once you’ve chosen the perfect law school to begin pursuing your dreams of fighting large infringement cases, Juris’ team of experts can help you create an impeccable application to make your dreams a reality
David Merson was the original author of this article. Snippets of his work may remain.
