Patent attorney
Patent attorneys advise clients and companies on how to apply for patents for new inventions, designs or processes.
- Starter salary£35,000 a year
- Experienced£95,000 a year
- Typical hours37 to 40 a week
What you'll do
As a patent attorney, you could:
- meet with inventors or manufacturers
- research existing patents to check if an invention or design is original
- advise clients on the likelihood of being granted a patent
- write detailed legal descriptions of the invention or design
- apply for patents to the UK Intellectual Property Office or European Patent Office
- answer questions from patent examiners
- advise clients whose patent rights may have been breached
- represent clients at court during patent disputes
- support overseas attorneys with UK patent applications
- keep up to date with intellectual property law
Working environment
You could work in an office, at a client's business or in a court.
Skills and knowledge you'll need
You'll need:
- legal knowledge including court procedures and government regulations
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- excellent verbal communication skills
- excellent written communication skills
- analytical thinking skills
- maths skills
- customer service skills
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently
How to become a patent attorney
You can get into this job through:
- a university course
- working towards this role
- applying directly
University
You'll usually need a degree in a technical subject, for example:
- science
- engineering
- mathematics
- computing
Once you finish your course, you can apply to work as a trainee in a patent office and study for professional exams while you work. It usually takes at least 2 years to qualify.
You may be able to take a postgraduate award in law or intellectual property law, which can count towards qualification as a patent attorney. Some patent attorney trainees are sent on one of these courses by their employers.
If you do a course that covers intellectual property or patent law, it may exempt you from part of the professional training.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
- a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study
Work
You could start your career by finding work as a technical assistant or trainee patent attorney. This may be in a firm of attorneys, or in a larger company's intellectual property department. Once working, you would take further training to qualify. This route can take between 4 and 6 years.
Direct application
You may be able to find work without a scientific or engineering degree, if you have a very high level of technical experience gained in industry.
This may also apply if you're a qualified solicitor with experience of working in intellectual property rights.
In both cases, you would still be required to study and pass professional exams.
Career path and progression
With experience, you could become an associate or partner in a patent services company.
In industry, you could move into management or research and development. You could also choose to become a patent examiner with the UK Intellectual Property Office or European Patent Office.
You'll be expected to develop your career through a programme of Continued Professional Competence (CPC) .
Some patent attorneys also register to do trade mark work.
Career tips
It may help in some jobs if you can read business French and German to a reasonable level, as clients often want advice about European patents, which can be prepared in English, French or German.
Registration
- you will need to register with the Intellectual Property Regulation Board
Guides for this industry
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