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[Eli Kawam]

I would like to become a patent agent. I am an electrical / electro-mechanical engineer with 27 years experience and 3 patents. I have been advised by other patent attorneys to become an agent. Question: How difficult is it and how long should it take? Where do I find info to get started. I'm in Phoenix.

[Isaac Clark]

You can usually find the details at this location.

http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/dcom/gcounsel/oed.htm

If you are a degreed electrical engineer you meet the education requirements.  You have to apply to take the patent agents exam.   The next one is supposed to be given sometime in April

Unfortunately, The PTO is in the process of changing to a computer based exam.  They have yet to provide all of the details required to register for the next exam.  

In my experience, the exam takes several months to prepare for, and people with no exposure to patent law may want to buy a course to assist with their preparation for the exam.

[JimIvey]

I'm in the process of helping a friend make the transition from engineer to patent agent, so I'll offer a thought or two.

I believe there are three basic foundational skills to drafting patent applications and arguing with the PTO.  They are (i) technical competence, (ii) strong basic writing skills, and (iii) legal skill/competence.  

Of those three, the last is the easiest to overcome.  The second is the most difficult to overcome.  So far, you've only spoken about the first.  If your writing skills are weak, you've got an uphill battle -- not insurmountable, but uphill nonetheless.

Mr. Clark is right; qualifying legally as a patent agent takes a few months.  Good luck to you!

[eric stasik]

Mr. Kawam,

Mr. Ivey is almost correct... I'd put writing skills in the first place. Technical skill is certainly necessary, as is a technical degree, but writing skill is probably the hardest. You have to like writing, or you will probably hate the job. Writing is a passion of mine, I've written a few books, but I always found the task of writing claims to be very hard work. Much harder than solving partial differential equations using stochastic calculus. I have a lot of respect for people who can do it well.

In preparing for the exam, there are three things to do: practice writing claims, practice writing claims, and practice writing claims. The legal stuff isn't that hard. if you learned differential calculus, patent law is a piece of cake. Just go through the prior exams, and make sure you are up to date on any changes to title 35, the code of federal regulations and the MPEP, which have been made since the last exam.

But really spend time trying to write a few applications from beginning to end. It is a good way to find out if you'd actually like doing the job!

Good Luck.

Regards,

Eric Stasik

[Isaac Clark]

I had some experience drafting applications before I took the  patent bar exam.    The experience was helpful, but only to the extent that it put some of the requirements in perspective.

The patent bar exam does not include claim drafting exercises anymore.  The exam consists of 100 mulitple choice questions and only a handful of those questions deal specifically with construing claims and spotting errors in claims.   The questions concerning PTO rules and patent law were by far the larger portion of the exam.   I don't think drafting lots of claims is where you want to spend your exam preparation time.

Of course, if you don't draft claims, you won't be ready to serve any clients after you pass the exam.  

[kittie43]

hi, I am currently in college as a biochemistry and a sociology major and i am thinking about trying to become a patent agent do u think that i should aim for going to law school before taking the test? or maybe pursuing a master's or phd in biochemistry?

[eric stasik]

Dear Mr. Clark,

Thanks for the 411. No claim drafting in the exam... unbelievable. When I took the exam 10 years ago, this was the hardest part.

How can anyone be given a license to represent clients who hasn't grasped even the basics of doing this? Drafting and prosecution is 10 percent "law" and the rest technical skill and writing.

In contrast, a European Patent Attorney is required to spend a number of years drafting and prosecuting (and performing oppositions) under the guidance of a licensed attorney before she is even allowed to sit for the exam. A German patentanwalt has to have, I believe, at least EIGHT years of experience before being allowed to sit for the German exam. In addition, both the EQE (European Qualifying Exam) and the German exam are more comprehensive and far more difficult compared to the US exam.

I will say it again, blaming the USPTO for poor quality patents and not also looking at the poor quality of some of the practitioners is ignoring 50 percent of the problem. The AIPLA doesn't want to own up to this, but until they start demanding tougher standards for their own members, their complaints about the USPTO remain self-serving, empty rhetoric in my eyes.

Best Regards,

Eric Stasik

[M. Arthur Auslander]

Dear Eli Kawam,

You probably qualify to take the exam. Check with the PTO for the prerequisites. There are courses to prep you for the exam.

Best of luck.

[JimIvey]

Just to clarify my post and Mr. Stasik's comment, I didn't mean the order of general competencies to be in any particular order.  I agree with Mr. Stasik that writing ability is the most important (technical acumen being a close second) and the hardest to acquire.

Note to Kittie43:  Patent practice involving life sciences seems to require more than a bachelors to do the work.  You'll be qualified to be a patent agent/attorney with a bachelors degree, but you'll probably have a hard time finding work with less than a PhD.  Take a look at ads looking to hire biologists for patent practice.  Most of them want a PhD.  If you know people working in this industry, talk to them.  Your professors probably know people working as biologist patent agents/attorneys.  They can also help you gain perspective on agent vs. attorney (whether to attend law school).

Good luck to both of you!

[Eli Kawam]

To All:

Thank you for taking time to provide extremely useful information in your posts.


Note: I DO apologize for misspelling "WANT"!

Eli