{"id":12286,"date":"2019-08-02T09:00:47","date_gmt":"2019-08-02T15:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/canadianglycomics.ca\/?p=12286"},"modified":"2019-08-02T14:33:54","modified_gmt":"2019-08-02T20:33:54","slug":"an-unexpected-career-in-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianglycomics.ca\/fr\/an-unexpected-career-in-science\/","title":{"rendered":"An Unexpected Career in Science"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guest blogger Lisa Sim shares her story of a career as a patent agent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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By Lisa Sim<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does it mean to have a career in science?  <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For me, the answer to this question has\nevolved through my career experiences. In the early stages of my career, as a fledgling\ngraduate student in microbiology, my answer to this question was narrowly\ndefined by a single path that started with graduate studies, followed by the\neventual postdoc, and if lucky, a tenured position in academia or a research\nposition in industry.  As it turned out,\ntowards the end of my studies, it became clear to me that a career at the bench\nwas not for me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After defending my thesis, I wrestled with\nthis question of \u201cwhat it means to have a career in science\u201d and, after a\nperiod of exploring various options, I distilled the answer to this question\nfor me to be a career that would allow me to contribute to technological\ninnovation\u2026without being at the bench. Through a series of fortuitous events, I\ndiscovered such a career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a patent agent, and more broadly as an\nintellectual property lawyer, I have found a career where I can utilize my technical\nexpertise, away from the bench, in an environment that allows me to work closely\nwith researchers to help them protect their innovations and develop strategies\nfor supporting the translation of these innovations to the marketplace.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does a patent agent do?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Patent agents\ndon\u2019t necessarily have to have a law degree. What is essential for a patent\nagent is to have the technical knowledge in the relevant field to be able to\nwork with fellow scientists in securing an ownership interest in a scientific\ninvention in order to support a commercial endeavor. This involves\nunderstanding what the business objective is for patenting an invention,\nworking with the scientist-inventor to identify what the invention is from the\nresearch that has been performed, and finally to prepare, file, and prosecute the\npatent application through to issuance in Canada and other jurisdictions in\norder to support the business objective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I have found\nmost interesting as a patent agent is looking at science from a business\nperspective and finding creative ways to define a scientific development as a\ncommercially relevant product.  This role\nas patent agent requires working with people outside of the lab, involved in\nall levels of the scientific community, including, scientist-inventors,\ntechnology transfer officers, representatives in government, research\ninstitutions, and corporations, and examiners at the Canadian Intellectual\nProperty Office (the \u201cCIPO\u201d).  Being able\nto understand the science, creatively translate the science to support the\nbusiness objective, and communicate this to these various levels of the\nscientific community requires a patent agent to have effective communication\nskills, creativity, and of course a strong technical knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you become a patent agent?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After graduate\nschool, I chose to go to law school with the intention of becoming an\nintellectual property lawyer. A law degree, however, is not a requirement to\nbecoming a patent agent.  What is\nrequired is to pass the patent agent qualifying exam.  All patent agents, whether a lawyer or not,\nmust pass the qualifying exam that is given by the CIPO.  In all honesty, the patent\nagent qualifying exam was the most challenging exam I have had to endure,\nhaving a pass rate of less than 20%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be eligible to sit the exam, a candidate\nhas to be a Canadian resident and must have worked for at least 24 months in\npatent practice.  For non-lawyers, the\ntypical route is to be employed as a patent agent trainee, sometimes referred\nto as a technical specialist, at a law firm having a patent practice. It is\nalso possible to meet this requirement by working on the examining staff at the\nPatent Office. It is during this trainee period that you will get first-hand\nexperience with all aspects of patent practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exam is held once a year in the spring\n(April or May) in various cities across Canada. The exam is designed to test\nknowledge of Canadian patent legislation, patent application drafting, case law\nand CIPO practices.  The exam is\ncomprised of four papers written within four hours over the course of four\ndays.  Each paper covers a different area\nof patent practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further details about the exam and sample\nexams from previous years are available through the CIPO website (https:\/\/www.ic.gc.ca\/eic\/site\/cipointernet-internetopic.nsf\/eng\/Home<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where do patent agents work?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Patent agents work\nwherever there is an opportunity to commercialize scientific development.  They are hired by law firms or agencies where\npatent services are offered, and are also hired by organizations that research\nand develop inventions or purchase the rights to inventions. Such organizations\ninclude, for example: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Biotech, pharma, or other technology corporations of various sizes;<\/li>
  • Law firms that practice intellectual property law;<\/li>
  • Government agencies; and<\/li>
  • Colleges and universities.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    My career path has led me to an unexpected destination but I couldn\u2019t be more happy with where I have ended up.  What I have experienced as a patent agent is a career in science that gives me access to the most recent scientific developments in a diversity of fields where I continue to participate in the scientific community in a meaningful way.  If a career as a patent agent interests you, I encourage you to reach out to a patent agent working in your technical field to find out more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    About the author<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Lisa is a partner in Miller Thomson\u2019s Vancouver office and a member of the Intellectual Property Group. Her practice focuses on protecting, commercializing, and managing intellectual property with an emphasis on patent matters in a variety of industries including biotechnology, health,medical devices, agriculture, forestry, oil & gas, mechanical arts, as well as environmental technologies.  <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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