What is a Patent Attorney?

A Patent Attorney is a member of a specialised legal profession qualified to advise clients about patents and help them get their patents granted by the patent offices around the world. We represent applicants at the European Patent Office (EPO) and The German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA), and work with foreign Attorneys to obtain patents in other countries.

A patent is a monopoly granted for a new scientific invention, relating to anything from computers and electronics to new pharmaceuticals and useful gene sequences.

Patent Attorneys may be employed “in-house” by companies or may work in private practice firms (just like solicitors). If you work in a private firm, you will work for numerous different clients ranging from individual inventors, universities, start-ups, large international companies or Attorneys from abroad. A good Patent Attorney needs to be adaptable to deal with these different clients and be quick to learn new technologies.

The training usually takes four to five years and you are required to pass various professional exams to qualify as a German Patent Attorney and a European Patent Attorney.

Patent Attorneys also often advise clients about other intellectual property rights, such as trade marks, designs and copyright.

What do you need to be a Patent Attorney?

  • A broad-based interest in science and technology
  • A master’s degree is mandatory + 1 year practical and technical work (which may done by experimental work with a PhD)
  • Excellent communications skills, especially in writing
  • A thoughtful approach to words and language
  • Good people skills to deal with clients and explain complex technical ideas and legal advice to them
  • The ability to work to tight deadlines and to handle several projects simultaneously
  • The ability to deal with detail as well as seeing the bigger picture
  • Commercial sense
  • One of the key skills of a Patent Attorney is reducing an invention to its essential features and writing.

“We are well recognised in the industry for our commitment to training new Attorneys, for our success in helping people through to qualification and for the quality of the work we do.”

Best bits

  • Variety of work, both in terms of clients and technology
  • Intellectually stimulating and always at the forefront of innovation
  • Very financially rewarding, especially when qualified
  • A job that enables you to use your science in a commercial way
  • A well-structured career progression with good job security, particularly when qualified.

Worst bits

  • Tough exams to pass, requiring study and revision outside of office hours
  • Multiple deadlines set by clients and patent offices, sometimes these can be tight!
  • Due to the above, the role can at times mean working long hours to get a piece of work completed on time