Case studies: Patent examiner: Joanna Manning

Joanna graduated with a Masters in chemistry with oceanography from the University of Southampton in 2005, and a PhD in chemistry in 2009. She now works at the Intellectual Property Office (IPO)...

I work in the medical technology department. I read through the patent application I am currently working on, and use our search software to find relevant documents so I can assess whether the application is new and inventive. I also assess how clearly the application is written. I write a report on my findings which is sent out to the applicant, and can either be a search (simply stating what I think the most closely related documents are), an examination (listing any problems I find with the application) or a notice of grant, allowing the application. I often have to talk to applicants on the phone, if they have queries about my reports.

I am also the 'SuperUser' for my examining group for some of the software we use. This means I am the first port of call if someone has a problem, or wants to know how to do something. It also means I get to test and use the newest versions of the software before the rest of the office, so I can help identify bugs, or features which need reworking.

When I first started there were a lot of training courses, and all my work was carefully scrutinised by a senior examiner before it was sent out. Now, as I have more knowledge, my work is less rigorously checked and I make more decisions on when to raise objections, and when to allow grant, rather than having to seek advice.

I would like to work in our policy or legal departments, at least for a while, but I also enjoy the examining side of things. I was recently promoted to C1 examiner, and now am working towards the C2 promotion, which I hope to get in a few years time.

I enjoy the variety of devices I see applications for, ranging from simple bandages to complex plasma generating surgical devices. The fact it's always changing makes the job very interesting. It's a very friendly and open workplace. I also like that it's more working alone than team working, meaning I have a lot of control over how I work. The most challenging part of my job is explaining complex legal concepts to applicants.

If I had to advise other students and graduates who'd like to get into this career then I'd say not to worry about the legal aspects of the job as you get trained in that. A scientific and enquiring mind is the most important attribute to have.

AGCAS

Sourced by AGCAS editors

Date: 

September 2012

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