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IP Australia Job
Opportunities in Patent Examination
What Patent Examiners do
An Examiner of Patents works in a screen based, office environment to electronically examine Australian and international patent applications, which includes assessing the detailed written description of the inventions and the associated claims to determine whether the application meets the legislative requirements of the Patents Act.
To perform the examination work an Examiner will use a variety of examination tools including, but not limited to; in house and world wide patent and technical databases, procedural manuals, legislation and their own intellectual capabilities and technical knowledge.
As a result of the examination the Examiner will:
- analyse application documents and determine if the legislative requirements are met including whether the invention is new and inventive;
- communicate with applicants or their patent attorney on the outcome of the analysis and consider responses and submissions; and
- depending on experience either recommend or approve the acceptance of a patent application.
Examination work is performed in a team environment however examiners must take on responsibility and management of their own work program, meet set targets and are required to perform other search, examination and administrative tasks to meet section or organisational goals.
An Examiner of Patents requires a degree in a relevant area of technology; or a diploma together with appropriate industry experience. (A degree obtained overseas must conform to Australian professional standards and be formally recognised).
IP Australia provides the appropriate legal and procedural training to enable the Examiner to perform their duties effectively. The initial full time training course is a competency based training program which includes formal and on the job training.
Fluency in English is essential.
IP Australia is a member of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and is an active member of the global IP community. Working knowledge of one or more of the other PCT official languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish), would be an advantage.
Patent Examiners are encouraged and supported to develop their legal and technical expertise through the Technical Examiner Learning Program (TELP) by attending technical conferences and industry visits. Patent Examiners may also pursue further study with support of Study Bank or the IP Australia Professional Development Program, which provide generous financial support. IP Australia also offers ongoing in-house professional development courses on topics such as leadership, communication skills and IT skills.
Listen to a Patent Examiner talk about their job
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