Why did you choose a job in this profession?
During my penultimate year at university, I started to think about the ways in which I could utilise my chemistry degree in a non-academic context. Although I thoroughly enjoyed practising science on paper, working in a wet lab was not as appealing as I initially had hoped. Whilst writing my Master’s thesis, it became clear to me that the act of communicating science was what I found to be most enjoyable.
Additionally, after many years of dealing purely in data and figures, I was beginning to miss some aspects of reading and analysing written text which I had enjoyed in previous studies.
After exploring various career pathways, the prospect of working on chemical inventions as a patent attorney sounded like a happy compromise between continuing to learn about science whilst simultaneously utilising written communication. I found the unique nature of the work to be very intriguing, and after gaining some experience during an internship at a private practice firm, I decided to pursue the profession on a full time basis.
Do you have any advice for anyone wanting to enter the profession?
Most application processes involve a series of technical and strength-based questions centred around your scientific knowledge and communication skills, as well as motivations for entering the profession. However, securing a job as a trainee patent attorney is a very competitive and lengthy process. My advice would be to cast applications as far and wide as possible, and try not to be too dissuaded if you are unsuccessful. Rejection is redirection!
Additionally, it is helpful to cater your cover letter to each individual firm to show that you understand the particulars of the company and any unique aspects of their training process or practice. Apart from that, make sure you understand the qualification pathway that you are committing to; there are a wealth of resources online about training as a patent attorney, and I would particularly recommend listening to some of the podcasts out there for a deeper insight.
What are your main duties/ roles?
My main duty involves responding to legal objections raised by an Examiner during the process of applying for patent protection on an invention. In order to be eligible for patentability, an invention has to satisfy a variety of legal criteria. As such, during the patent application process, an Examiner will review the application documents and will commonly cite certain legal grounds which the invention is alleged to fall short of.
Responding to these objections essentially boils down to analysing scientific documents and constructing persuasive arguments in order to allow a patent application to proceed to grant. Additionally, outside of the day job, a significant amount of time is spent preparing and revising for upcoming UK and European patent exams to qualify as a chartered UK and European patent attorney.