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WORK AND DUTIES

Patent examiners review Patent Application s to determine whether they should become a Patent . The work of patent examiner usually includes searching patent and Scientific Literature Database s for Prior Art , and substantively examining patent applications, that is examining whether the Claim ed invention meets the patentability requirements such as Novelty , "inventive Step" Or "non-obviousness" , " Industrial Application " (or "utility") and Sufficiency Of Disclosure .

On April 13 , 2007 , a "Coalition of Patent Examiner Representatives" expressed its concern that
:"in many Patent Office s, the pressures on examiners to produce and methods of allocating work have reduced the capacity of examiners to provide the quality of examination the peoples of the world deserve that the combined pressures of higher productivity demands, increasingly complex patent applications and an ever-expanding body of relevant patent and non-patent literature have reached such a level that, unless serious measures are taken, meaningful protection of Intellectual Property throughout the world may, itself, become history." ''Open Letter From a Coalition of Patent Examiner Representatives'' (To: Mr. Jon Dudas, Director, United States Patent and Trademark Office, Prof. Alain Pompidou, President, European Patent Office, Dr. Jürgen Schade, President, Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt, Mr. David Tobin, Commissioner of Patents, Registrar of Trademarks and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Dr. Friedrich Rödler, President, Österreichisches Patentamt) - Re: The Future of the Patent System, April 13, 2007.


PATENT EXAMINERS BY LEGISLATION


European Patent Organisation


European Patent Organisation (EPO) examiners are exempted from work- and residence-permit procedures (but since most of EPC Contracting States are members of the European Union, this is usually not a problem anyway).

The examiners examine patent applications in three official languages ( English Language , French Language , and German Language ). Examiners are hired for searching databases, document analysis, patent communications, and judging patent validity. Examiners are represented by a Trade Union , SUEPO .

A qualified examiner possesses the formal following minimums:
  • EPO member state nationality,

  • Degree in engineering or in science;

  • knowledge and ability of the official languages


Some examiners have work experience in industry, but this is not an essential background as there is training in patent examination. "'' Patent examiner posts ''". European Patent Office (EPO), retrieved on June 12, 2006. Examiners can specialize in fields of technology in which inventions are Patentable under the European Patent Convention (EPC), such as Computer Science , Electricity and Semiconductor technology, Industrial Chemistry , Organic Chemistry , Electronics , Horology , Mechanical Engineering , Measuring , Optics , Telecommunications , Polymer Chemistry or Civil Engineering .


United States


American patent examiners prosecute applications for patents. Examiners are considered to be quasi-judicial, because an appeal of their decision is only three steps away from the Supreme Court. Hired at the GS-5, GS-7, GS-9 or GS-11 grade levels GS-5, GS-7, or GS-9 grade levels are part of the , Technical and Automation training is provided to examiners at the USPTO. Considered White Collar employees, only a minority of the examiners choose to be members of the representative Trade Union , Patent Office Professional Association (POPA).

American examiner responsibilities include:
  • Reviewing patent applications to determine if they comply with basic format, rules and legal requirements;

  • Determining the scope of the protection claimed by the inventor;

  • Researching relevant technologies to compare similar prior inventions with the invention claimed in the patent applications; and

  • Communicating findings as to the patentability of an applicant's invention via a written action to inventors/patent practitioners.


A qualified examiner with the USPTO is a (with Calculus , Differential Equations and Statistics ), Electrical Engineering , Mechanical Engineering , Industrial Engineering , Agriculture engineering, Biomedical Engineering , Ceramic engineering, Textile engineering, computer Hardware and Software Engineering , Transportation and Construction engineering, Metallurgy , Material s engineering, Physics , Chemical Engineering , Organic Chemistry , Chemistry , Biology , and Pharmacology .


Spanish Patent and Trademark Office


Spanish Patent And Trademark Office (OEPM) examiners are civil servants and become examiners after 4 competitive exams. Then the examiners have to pass a training period and after two years working as junior examiners, permanently tutorized, become senior examiners.

The examiners examine patent applications searching in any type of publication all over the world. Main Examiners' skills are languages, searching databases, document analysis, patent communications, and examination criteria.

Today there are 140 examiners at the SPTO and the number is growing each year. Spanish patent examiners offer a high degree of quality in their searches and examination procedures.


NOTABLE PATENT EXAMINERS AND CLERKS


  • , 2004, page 278, ISBN 0071437649 "In 1946, a 20-year-old Soviet patent clerk in Russia named Genrich Altshuller..." in Peter Middleton, James Sutton, ''Lean Software Strategies: proven techniques for managers and developers'', Productivity Press, 2005, page 159, ISBN 1563273055

  • Clara Barton , (1821–1912), worked at the United States Patent Office (Currently the USPTO ) "Clara Barton, the founder of the Red Cross, held a regular civil service appointment

  • as a patent clerk as early as 1854." in B. Zorina Khan, ''The Democratization of Invention: patents and copyrights in American economic development, 1790-1920'', Cambridge University Press , 2005, page 136, note 25. ISBN 052181135X "Called the “Angel of the Battlefield,” Clara Barton was a former teacher and

patent clerk..." in Alan Axelrod, ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Civil War'', Alpha Books, 2003, page 147,
ISBN 1592571328 "Clara Barton, a former teacher and patent clerk, ..." in Fred D. Cavinder, ''More Amazing Tales from Indiana'', Indiana University Press, 2003, page 79, ISBN 0253216532


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