The Washington herald., 1915-08-28
Washington Is Mecca for
Patent Attorneys of the U.S..
More Than 300 Such Solicitors Have Been Attracted to Ma
tonal Capital, Most Of Them Being Members of the
Educational Association Organized

Washington is the Mecca for pat
ent attorneys of the United States
There are more patent solicitors here
than in any other city of the country
The Patent Office here at the seat OF
government serves as a powerful mag
net, drawing industrious and ambitious
patent attorneys from all sections of
the land.
The advantages of location in Wash
ington are too obvious to need speci-
fcation. Patent attorneys have found
that it is essential to be located in
the city where their work is passed
upon. The files and records of the or
fee are easily accessible for purposes
of searching-one of the most i'm
portant parts of patent work. Proxlm-
ity to the Office eliminates a great
waste Of time and expedites consider
ably the issuance of patents to ap-
plicants
For these reasons patent solicitors
have gravitated to the National Cap
itaL There are more than 800 of them
in the city. And practically all of the
solicitors are members of the bar,
whether they actually practice or not.
There was a day when but few solic-
itors were practitioners. The solicitor
handled the technical parts and the
lawyer took care of the legal problems
involved. That day has passed. Nearly
all solicitors now are qualified TO as
sumo charge of all phases of the pat
ent work.
AS far as patent soliciting is con-
cerned. Washington is in a class by
itself. Actual practitioners here. how
ever, are not SO numerous as in other
cities New York and Chicago both
have large numbers of patent practi-
TONERS. There being but little patent
litigation here, the need for practi-
TONERS is less marked.
1t is significant that more than
third of the members of the American
Patent Law Association are residents
of Washington. This organization was
formed in January, 1897. and original
ly was merely Local in scope. being
known as the Patent Law Association
of Washington. \ short time ago the
association was matiOnalized upon the
solicitation OF patent attorneys re-
siding in other cities. who realized
the immense benefits to be derived
from membership in the organization.
The association has even an interna-
tional scope. number of foreign pat
ent attorneys ,beiag members Great
care is exercised. however, in admit
ting foreign members, and they are
not regarded as ligible unless it is
evident that they can be of material
ization IN its campaigns for better
patent laws The association is COM
PEELED to reject the applications of
many foreign patent attorneys who
seek membership solely because of
the prestige and advertisement they
would gain
The association has O. membership
of between 800 and 500, approximately
200 members being residents of the
National Capital. The organization is
w ANCN'N 'OAlSSI NdAiNt IA N4AIl d11tA
and seeks rather to check unwise
legislation than TO urge radical revi-
Sions OF existing laws. although much
constructive Legislation has been add
vocated and pushed forward to pas
sage.
During the past eight CT ten years
there has been proposed in both
Houses of Congress much patent law
Legislation of the widest type, and
the efforts of the association have
been directed primarily toward
thwarting the passage of these bills.
The organization is cautious about its
advocacy OF reforms. for the proposing
OF a revision always eXctes some to
d desire TO rip the laws up and down
and build upon entirely new ground.
The association believes that changes
should be brought about more grad
ually. so not to disrupt business
methods and throw patent attorneys
out OF equilibrium by radical trans !
formations.
The association. however. has done |
a considerable amount OF reform |