Any patent attorneys here?
Discussion
As part of my current job, I spend quite a lot of time consulting with patent attorneys on new products designs and also reading through other patents to check for potential issues with our own new designs. All of this is something I really enjoy, probably more than the design work I've been doing for the last 8 years.
So how does one become a patent attorney? I have a degree in mechanical engineering, but I presume a legal qualification is also required? I think that with my mechanical experience and knowledge I could bring quite a lot to such a position.
I seem to remember there being a few patent attorneys on here so if you're one of them, what's your background etc.
And of course, what's the money like?
This makes it sound quite attractive:
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/downloads/occprofiles/p...
So how does one become a patent attorney? I have a degree in mechanical engineering, but I presume a legal qualification is also required? I think that with my mechanical experience and knowledge I could bring quite a lot to such a position.
I seem to remember there being a few patent attorneys on here so if you're one of them, what's your background etc.
And of course, what's the money like?
This makes it sound quite attractive:
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/downloads/occprofiles/p...
Edited by Goochie on Thursday 21st January 13:23
Mrs Renmure is a Chartered Patent Attorney, European Patent Attorney, European Trade Mark and Design Attorney and Director at one of the largest pan european IP firms.
Her background is Degree in Physics, then straight into a trainee position with one of the London firms before moving back to Scottyland. There seems to be a number of different ways into the profession tho since a scan of the qualifications and experience of the 90 or so professional staff on her firms website shows a mixture of backgrounds, ranging from folk following Mrs R's route, folk entering traineeship after postgrad/post doctoral research, folk moving from industry etc. A legal qualification isn't a prerequisite although I have noted that some of the attorneys do have an IP management qualification and some others do have an LLb.
My understanding is that the professional examinations that need to be undertaken during the traineeship are particularly difficult and can take from 5yrs (frequently much longer) to jump through all the hoops (mind you, she would say that wouldn't she.. but she did mention a 6hr written exam for more than one exam) and, speaking from the outside, the job does seem to be one which suits "high-achievers" type folk. Salary seems adequate for the moment and helps pay the petrol bills, although I may get her a paper round when the lighter nights come round
If you don't get swamped by replies then drop me a PM and I will put you in touch with SWMBO and she can fill in the gaps.
Her background is Degree in Physics, then straight into a trainee position with one of the London firms before moving back to Scottyland. There seems to be a number of different ways into the profession tho since a scan of the qualifications and experience of the 90 or so professional staff on her firms website shows a mixture of backgrounds, ranging from folk following Mrs R's route, folk entering traineeship after postgrad/post doctoral research, folk moving from industry etc. A legal qualification isn't a prerequisite although I have noted that some of the attorneys do have an IP management qualification and some others do have an LLb.
My understanding is that the professional examinations that need to be undertaken during the traineeship are particularly difficult and can take from 5yrs (frequently much longer) to jump through all the hoops (mind you, she would say that wouldn't she.. but she did mention a 6hr written exam for more than one exam) and, speaking from the outside, the job does seem to be one which suits "high-achievers" type folk. Salary seems adequate for the moment and helps pay the petrol bills, although I may get her a paper round when the lighter nights come round
If you don't get swamped by replies then drop me a PM and I will put you in touch with SWMBO and she can fill in the gaps.
Purely as an aside....
Goochie said:
Mrs R said that your link led to one of the better descriptions of the Job. If you already can read through reams of pedantic language and come out the other end with a smile on your face, maybe it really is for you (I expect it isn't for most people).
I thought very seriously about doing it as a career when I left uni, in many ways I still think it'd suit me. The Prospects site is a good resource and sums it up well I think. You need a good scientific degree as a minimum and maybe "something else" to bring to the table - maybe German or French language. No legal qualifications are needed before you join. Mechanical engineering is probably about the most suitable area - there are more opportunities from what I could see. Speaking as someone who was looking at doing it in a smaller area (life sciences) and without any actual experience, it seemed a fairly difficult career to get into. I'm sure it'd be easier with the experience you already have. Basically you send letters around to some firms, and some of the bigger ones have a standard application process (for graduates at least). Once you're in on a training contract it's a bit of a slog to qualify - lots of exams, probably 5 years. The alternative route is in-house: find a big company that files a lot of patents. Probably higher paid to start with, but not post-qualification and probably less varied.
I sent some letters, most didn't have anything in my discipline but I did a couple interviews for one of the bigger firms. Everything was going well in the final stage until I was asked which college I went to. When I dropped the bombshell that in fact I didn't go to Oxford or Cambridge (it was a top tier uni though btw) things unravelled pretty quickly. Until that day I didn't realise the Old Boys' network was still so important (perhaps naively). I really should have realised - all the staff had profiles on the website and, at the time, only one (of about 50?) had not been to Oxbridge (it was not far off though). Many of the other firms had similar populations. Anyway, the only reason I mention all this is just in case that sort of thing bothers you, and it's probably just the big boys. The earlier comment about "suits high flyers" sounds accurate.
Good luck!
I thought very seriously about doing it as a career when I left uni, in many ways I still think it'd suit me. The Prospects site is a good resource and sums it up well I think. You need a good scientific degree as a minimum and maybe "something else" to bring to the table - maybe German or French language. No legal qualifications are needed before you join. Mechanical engineering is probably about the most suitable area - there are more opportunities from what I could see. Speaking as someone who was looking at doing it in a smaller area (life sciences) and without any actual experience, it seemed a fairly difficult career to get into. I'm sure it'd be easier with the experience you already have. Basically you send letters around to some firms, and some of the bigger ones have a standard application process (for graduates at least). Once you're in on a training contract it's a bit of a slog to qualify - lots of exams, probably 5 years. The alternative route is in-house: find a big company that files a lot of patents. Probably higher paid to start with, but not post-qualification and probably less varied.
I sent some letters, most didn't have anything in my discipline but I did a couple interviews for one of the bigger firms. Everything was going well in the final stage until I was asked which college I went to. When I dropped the bombshell that in fact I didn't go to Oxford or Cambridge (it was a top tier uni though btw) things unravelled pretty quickly. Until that day I didn't realise the Old Boys' network was still so important (perhaps naively). I really should have realised - all the staff had profiles on the website and, at the time, only one (of about 50?) had not been to Oxbridge (it was not far off though). Many of the other firms had similar populations. Anyway, the only reason I mention all this is just in case that sort of thing bothers you, and it's probably just the big boys. The earlier comment about "suits high flyers" sounds accurate.
Good luck!
Gassing Station | Jobs & Employment Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff