This talk will focus on defining what intellectual property is, and discussing the nature of legal doctrines related to this area of law. The history of the patent process will be be reviewed, and the patent application process will be explained. Typical roadblocks to encountered in the process will be described. Finally, some examples of patents and patent applications will be presented and explained.

Mr. Allen graduated from Bob Jones University with a degree in aircraft maintenance in 1992 where he earned his Airframe and Powerplant License from the FAA. He obtained a degree in electrical engineering, magna cum laude, in 1996 from Mississippi State University. In 1999, he earned his law degree from Baylor University School of Law where he was a member of the Baylor Law Review. Upon graduation, Mr. Allen joined Carstens Yee & Cahoon, L.L.P. as an associate. His primary areas of practice are patent law and aviation law.

As an undergraduate, Mr. Allen specialized in communication systems with a focus on microwave systems, digital signal processing, and antenna design. He was a member of the University Honors Program, Phi Kappa Phi, and Eta Kappa Nu. While attending Mississippi State, Mr. Allen worked as a grader for a tenured electrical engineering professor and also as an FAA Authorized Inspector at Southeast Aviation in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. In addition, he obtained his private pilot license in a Cessna 140 that he had restored. While in his second year of law school, Mr. Allen served as president of his law school class and was a member of the Dean's Academic Honor List. Along the way, he obtained the airplane instrument rating and operated his own aircraft leasing business.

Mr. Allen grew up in southern Mississippi where he was actively involved in the operation and maintenance of a beef cattle farm. He also worked with his father performing land surveys and constructing foundations for roadways. While an undergraduate, he worked at the Amerada Hess oil refinery in Purvis, Mississippi where he performed numerous tasks that involved operations, maintenance, and upkeep of the plant.

Mr. Allen is a member of the American Bar Association, the Intellectual Property Law Association, the Lawyer-Pilot Bar Association, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. He is also the author of The On Sale Bar: When Will Inventors Receive Some Guidance?, 51 Baylor L. Rev. 125 (1999).

Click here for a Powerpoint version of the talk. Questions or comments about the material presented here can be directed to ies_help@cavs.msstate.edu.