Re: verb to noun: cool or incorrect?

[Lauren <lauren -at- writeco -dot- net>]

Oh, my crackers!!! I began my response and then read the responses in 
this thread. Most are wrong! A quick web search of âprosecution spendâ 
shows what it is. Add a few keywords of intellectual property and patent 
prosecution to get a few more results. I think there should be a rule of 
ethics that writers should check facts before giving writing advice.

It isnât âspendâ as a noun, itâs âprosecution spendâ and it has to do 
with the cost of pursuing patents. If it is changed to âspending,â it 
will not fit with IP industry standard and could be a red flag on a 
rÃsumà since the phrase would no longer make sense.

In the quoted sentence, the ampersand gives me grief; the industry term 
is appropriate, especially within the context of reducing a specific 
type of troubling cost. If someone is applying for a job in patent 
management and they have this skill, then I would want to learn more 
about what they do to reduce prosecution spend.

Whatever you do, donât change the phrase âprosecution spendâ or argue 
against it. Itâs an industry cost and anyone associated with patents or 
otherwise involved in intellectual property should know that.

I had a similar editorial âcorrectionâ in a recent position writing 
several rÃsumÃs. One rÃsumà was for a lawyer working in technology. One 
of the IT business analysts changed the lawyerâs degree on the rÃsumà to 
âJuris Doctorate.â The law degree is a doctorate degree but it is called 
a âJuris Doctor.â

I think it is important to understand the industry you are writing about 
before making editorial changes to what could be industry terms.

~Lauren~


On 10/24/2018 6:36 AM, Erika Yanovich wrote: