A patent is a government-sponsored right that an inventor has to prevent others from making, using, or selling his or her invention without permission for a set period of time. A patent agent is a highly qualified individual who has been recognized by a government agency, such as the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as having met the requirements to prepare, file, and process patent applications. This person could also be an attorney, in which case he or she would be known as a patent attorney and have additional skills. However, this job can be done without being an attorney.
A patent agent prepares documents for processing and filing, as well as negotiating and drafting patent agreements. To ensure proper filing, he or she may work with both product developers and their legal team.
In the United States, the agent can submit applications and documents to the USPTO using the patent electronic filing system (EFS-Web), a web-based tool. This tool can also be used to track pending applications and the status of a patent application, but it requires familiarity with the forms and documents that work with it, as well as knowledge of how to set up a web browser to interact with it and staying current with new versions.
A patent agent may also assist in the prosecution of a client’s patents or assist in the long-term management of a client’s patent portfolio. This person may collaborate with developers, the business team, other agents, and patent attorneys in the latter case. The individual may be required to know the rules, regulations, and documents associated with the International Patent Cooperation Treaty in addition to a thorough understanding of USPTO rules and the Manual of Patent Examination Procedure (MPEP) (PCT).
A person working in this field may also be involved in related fields such as intellectual property (IP), trademarks, and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and licensing. In addition to patent review committee management, publication review, and invention disclosure review, a patent agent may be involved in patent review committee management. It’s also possible that interference and opposition practice will be used.