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Paper text:
some patent law rms hire scientists or engineers with advanced degrees or training in a technical field to train as patent agents ( sometimes using other names , such as patent scientist or technical specialist ) .
patent and trademark ofce ( uspto ) registration exam ( informally called the patent bar exam ; discussed below in careers for attorneys ) as patent attorneys , and they perform many of the same duties as a patent attorney , but with certain important limitations .
patent agents are , by denition , not attorneys , and so are legally prohibited from practicing law beyond those  tasks which are incident to the preparation and prosecution of patent applications before the patent office 
also , in the united states , nonattorneys are prohibited from becoming partners in the law rms in which they work , except in washington , dc , although the american bar association is considering whether to urge the state bar associations to follow the district of columbia 's example ( american bar association , 2011 ) .
but many patent agents are quite satised with their careers and are highly valued by their employers , and should an agent wish to become an attorney , matriculation at a part - time law school program might be possible .
patent examiners work for the uspto or the patent ofce of another country or region .
patent examiners are tasked with determining whether the patent applications assigned to them meet the requirements for patentability .
the examination of a patent application often goes through multiple rounds of review , with the examiner rejecting it and the applicant ( or , more typically , the applicant 's patent attorney or patent agent ) amending the application and/or rebutting the grounds for rejection until either the application is allowed to issue as a patent or is abandoned by the applicant .
the uspto hires new examiners for their technical expertise and communication skills but does not expect them to know patent law , so every new examiner receives a considerable amount of paid on - the - job training .
traditionally , examiners were required to work at the uspto 's headquarters outside washington , dc , but the uspto is opening satellite offices in other cities and expanding its telecommuting options .
the uspto also allows for a range of creative alternatives to the traditional nine - to - five , monday - through - friday work schedule .
a patent prosecutor , like a patent agent , spends most of his or her time engaged in activities related to the procurement of patents .
this includes talking to clients about their potentially patentable inventions , drafting and ling patent applications , and taking patent applications through the uspto 's examination process .
ideally , this is done as part of an overarching patent strategy that the patent attorney has developed with his or her client .
patent prosecutors also analyze third - party patents to determine whether they present potential obstacles to their clients business plans ; evaluate third - party patent assets that might be bought , in - licensed , or acquired through a merger or acquisition ; and assist in the out - licensing and sale of their clients assets .
a patent litigator specializes in asserting his or her clients patent rights against alleged infringers and defending clients who are being sued for patent infringement . in patent litigation , as in civil litigation generally , the actual arguing of a case to a judge or jury is the relatively short end of a long and complicated process ( and many cases are settled or dismissed before they even reach trial ) .
thus , for any given case , a patent litigator will spend most of his or her time identifying and analyzing the relevant provisions of law , collecting evidence , building a litigation strategy , making or assessing settlement offers , and much else besides .
the line between the duties of a patent prosecutor and those of a patent litigator is not always clearly drawn .
the patent prosecutor who shepherded an application through the uspto might be asked to assist or join a litigation team preparing to assert it against an infringer .
patent litigators sometimes help patent prosecutors to obtain patents that will be easier to successfully enforce against an infringer .
prosecutors and litigators might work together to challenge the validity of a third party 's patent using certain quasi - judicial administrative procedures that are available at the uspto and other patent offices .
patent agents and attorneys alike must pass the patent bar exam in order to practice before the uspto .
the aspiring patent agent who has passed the patent bar exam will have an advantage over job - seekers who have not , but it is a difficult test that requires considerable preparation . while the exam itself tests one 's knowledge of patent law , in order to sit for the exam , an applicant must satisfy the uspto that he or she has the requisite technical background .
possession of a bachelor 's degree in molecular biology , biology , or biochemistry ( among many other fields ) , will suffice ( see general requirements bulletin [ uspto , 2012 ] ) .
patent attorneys , but not patent agents , also must be admitted to practice law in one or more of the states or in the district of columbia , and so will have to have taken and passed a state bar exam and satisfied several other criteria .
for example , practicing attorneys , unlike scientists , must possess good moral character ( committee of bar examiners , 2012 ) .
most states administer the bar exam only to law school graduates , although some allow for an apprenticeship instead .
patent examiners work for a government - run patent office , as already mentioned , but other patent professionals typically begin their careers with a private law rm .
such employers range from small , specialized patent law rms to enormous international rms that practice every sort of law . at a law rm ,
one works for several , and perhaps many , different clients . whether one is an attorney or agent , under the traditional law firm model ,
many rms require their attorneys to bill at least a certain number of hours per year .
this creates pressure to efficiently use one 's time so as to maximize the amount of one 's workday that can be billed to the client .
this pressure has only increased during the lingering global recession , as clients scrutinize their legal bills ever more closely .
consequently , some firms are exploring alternatives to by - the - hour billing , such as prenegotiated fees for specific projects ( zahorsky , 2012 ) .
most medium - sized or larger biotech and pharmaceutical companies have their own  in - house  patent attorneys and patent agents .
in - house legal staff are free of the tyranny of the billable hour ( as their employers are their only clients ) , although their time might be tracked , and they certainly are expected to be productive and efficient .
in - house positions are typically available only to attorneys and agents with at least a few years of law rm experience .
the technology transfer offices of many universities and of government research organizations like the national institutes of health also employ patent professionals to identify , protect , and license intellectual property generated at their institutions , but their hiring criteria and job descriptions vary widely .
the graduate student contemplating a career in patent law will have to make another important decision : whether to nish his or her degree .
an employer may require a ph.d . even if it is not a job requirement , a ph.d .
and there are intangible personal benets to nishing a degree program in which one has invested so substantially .
but many excellent biotech patent attorneys ( and all but a few biotech patent litigators ) have limited or no postbaccalaureate scientific training , and the opportunity costs of advanced degrees have been well documented ( chemjobber , 2012 ) .
those costs increase substantially when nishing one 's dissertation delays starting a potentially lucrative legal career .
thus the aspiring patent attorney who does a coldly rational cost  benet analysis might elect to start his or her legal career as soon as possible rather than nish his or her ph.d .
there is no substitute for talking with a number of patent professionals , preferably including some who themselves made the leap from science to patent law .
the best such contacts will be people you share some connection or commonality with : a friend , a friend of a friend , a graduate of your degree program , someone whose dissertation was in the same eld as yours  anything that establishes a frame of reference for your discussion .
the technology transfer office at your institution might be able to direct you to the patent law firms they work with , or you can find patent professionals online . ask whether they would be willing to schedule a short appointment for an informational interview about careers in patent law .
( your success rate might increase if you mention that you will not be asking them for a job . )
if you are invited to an in - person interview , be sure to wear business - appropriate attire .
be prepared with specic questions for your interviewee : how did he or she decide to enter patent law ?
? why did he or she decide to go , or not , to law school ?
what is a typical day like for him or her ? what does he or she nd most satisfying and most challenging about his or her work ?
how would he or she compare his or her patent law career to his or her previous life in science ? if his or her professional biography is posted on his or her firm 's website , use this information to select appropriate questions .
these contacts also can provide some insight into the current state of the job market for patent agents or attorneys .
legal recruiters in the geographical region where you wish to practice can be found online and should have an even better sense of this .
anyone considering enrolling in a full - time law school program should give this decision very careful thought .
law school graduates can accrue six - figure student loan debts and face uncertain job prospects ( carrns , 2012 ) , especially in the current economic climate .
an alternative that might be available is to work for a law rm that allows its patent agents to attend law school in the evenings . but
squeezing a full - time job and several hours of law school classes and homework into a single day is a challenge , to say the least ( schwab , 2009 ) . and
it usually takes four years to earn a law degree this way , rather than the three years needed for a full - time program of study .
reinventing oneself professionally is difficult and should not be attempted casually . only you can determine whether a career in patent law is right for you .
but many molecular biologists have found their scientific training to be a good preparation for a legal career .
the law requires an ability to make and analyze arguments , weigh evidence , and communicate clearly in writing and orally  skills that are developed in writing and analyzing scientific papers and presenting results at lab meetings and scientific conferences .
one wanting to leave science but still interested in making full use of his or her scientific training would do well to consider a career in patent law .
leaving science to pursue a career in patent law requires a considerable investment of time and energy , and possibly money , with no guarantee of finding a job or of returning to science should the decision prove infelicitous . yet 
 the large number of former scientists now practicing patent law shows that it can be done . 
 i provide suggestions for investigating the potential opportunities , costs , risks , and rewards of this career path .