why I’m studying for the patent agent exam

Someone asked me the other day why I was studying for the patent agent exam.

It’s a good question. Here, in no particular order, are my reasons

  • As a design consultant, I regularly am exposed to the IP of my clients and their competitors. Understanding where the IP “white space” of a particular field is a critical input to designing a marketable solution.
  • Having the skills to be able to draft and prosecute (legal-speak for “process”) a patent application means that if  I have (or a friend has) an idea that might be patentable, I don’t have to cough up $4,000 – $10,000 to have someone else check over it to make sure it is properly constructed (the importance of which cannot be overstated, a poorly written patent is worthless). Having a really strong patent can be the difference between getting your startup funded or… not.
  • It’s low-hanging fruit. If you a bachelor’s degree in a “recognized technical subject” (which includes pretty much any engineering degree… full list on page 4 of USPTOs General Requirements Bulletin), all you have to do is pass an exam.
  • I like to broaden my skills. CAD, tolerance analysis, mechanism design etc. are still my bread-and-butter, but the uncertainty of what lies a decade or so down the road has me thinking it’s a good investment to diversify my most valuable asset: my ability to work.
  • If I ever become so-inclined (I am not), once I am a registered practitioner, the only thing that stands between me and a career as a patent attorney is law school. Can’t be any tougher than engineering school.
  • It’s a credential. Some companies will pay you more just because you have a credential (which I think is silly and lazy of whoever is evaluating talent and performance, but I digress), so that can be nice.
Those are my reasons. Bottom line, I’m convinced the cost (both money and time) is less than the benefits.
What do you think? Am I viewing things through rose-colored glasses?

If you’re interested in studying for the exam yourself, check out this study aid I put together. It’s better than anything I could find

Tagged as: career development

Article by chris loughnane

Chris is Design Engineer + Sustainability Advocate at a Boston area design consultancy and has written 134 sweet posts for the Product Development Notebook.

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  • http://www.galvanilegal.com/ Arizona Patent Attorney

    Hi Chris,

    Best of luck on the exam.  You do have a bit of a rosy outlook on the test – it isn’t just a credential that gets added to your resume and instantly gives you a leg up.  Think of the exam more like passing the EIT – it doesn’t mean you are a good engineer or can build a great bridge, it just means that you’ve passed a test.  It is a stepping stone in a long learning process.  Good luck nevertheless. 

  • http://www.pdnotebook.com/ loughnane

    My outlooks tend to be rosy :)

    I started doing it for the benefit it could provide to my clients, at least to the ones who have value in IP.

    This is giving me a great idea for a post “the role of IP in early-stage product development”

    For know, I’ll just say that in some situations IP can take a back seat. Some firms are content to develop concepts, toss them over the wall to their lawyers, and go from there. A deeper understanding of the IP landscape can really help frame the problem in such a way that the end solution is optimized for both performance and IP value.

    Great web site by the way. I’ve been looking for information on what is involved in a “patent clearance search” as you call it. Do you have any case studies you can throw up onto your site? Or advice of some sort?

    I’d even cross post it here if it seemed like a good fit.