WOULD you like a job that involves scientific research — but not in a laboratory? Then consider becoming a patent examiner; and expect people to think that you inspect shoes, although this kind of patent refers to intellectual property rights.
Patent examiners at the UK Patent Office in Newport grant patents on inventions — which forbid their use by anyone other than the owner in the UK. (There is also a European Patent Office in Munich with branches in Berlin, The Hague and Vienna.) To become a trainee you would need a degree in science, engineering or maths, or equivalent industrial experience. Examiners also need analytical, critical and English language skills, says David Barford, the deputy director in charge of recruitment. The Patent Office provides all necessary technical and legal training.
Kathryn Orme, a graduate in chemistry with five years’ experience in the chemical manufacturing industry, moved to the Patent Office in search of a change. “I wanted to do something where I could still use my science but from a different angle. Here I combine science and legal work and learn something new almost every day.”
Orme deals with applications concerned with inorganic chemistry — ceramics, cements, fertilisers and some foodstuffs. “When an application comes to me I first do an online search, using specialised databases and software that can do keyword searches. I have to be certain that the invention really is new, so I do a search which can involve European, American and Japanese documents. After the search I do the examination, comparing similar documents in detail, and may need to contact the inventor or the patent attorney who submitted the application. When all the legal requirements have been met I grant the patent. Most applications come via patent attorneys; some have potential but the odd wild and wacky one completely defies the laws of physics.”
Patent examiners start on about £20,000 a year. Senior examiners can earn more than £50,000. To work at the European Patent Office you will need good knowledge of two of the official languages, English, French and German, and preferably some knowledge of the third.
Advertisement
BERYL DIXON