I’m Cameron, a Trainee Patent Attorney at Potter Clarkson. I started around 7 months ago, before which I completed an integrated masters in astrophysics at the University of St Andrews. In 2023, I worked for RWE Renewables, in their offshore wind division, modelling wind turbine component breakages and proactive part replacements.

Why I chose the profession

I love physics and the way it can impact on and improve every aspect of our lives. I was looking for a career where I could use my physics knowledge in an interesting and stimulating way. I was attracted to the patent attorney profession specifically because of the variety of work involved, as well as having the opportunity to develop a whole new area of knowledge in patent and intellectual property law.

Work involved in the role

I work within the Technology, Engineering and Design team, which encompasses a wide range of fields, ranging from mechanical inventions to inventions relating to nuclear fusion, medical devices and computer-implemented methods, which can involve AI. The skills and knowledge gained from my degree have been key in understanding how inventions work and identifying the key differences between an invention and the prior art, which are documents which relate to the current state of knowledge in the field. My role includes work at every stage of the process of obtaining a patent, as well as other work relating to general Intellectual Property (IP) strategy, Freedom to Operate (FTO) checks, patent oppositions, and meetings with clients and inventors to understand how their inventions work and what the best form of protection is for them. Patent prosecution progresses on relatively long timescales, so at any one time you are involved in multiple applications at different stages.

The most important section of an application is the claims, which define the scope of protection of the patent. The rest of the application provides context and support to the features described by the claims. A patent office may raise objections against some or all of the claims, based on a search for prior art. Work then involves drafting responses to address the objections. These responses may include amendments to the claims and arguments against the Examiner’s position.

Everyone at Potter Clarkson is really supportive and has made me feel part of the team from the start.

Current training

I will study to be both a UK and a European Patent Attorney. Training for the exams has so far involved in-house tutorials and is soon to include external courses, in preparation for some of the UK foundation exams which I will be sitting in October.

Future plans

I intend to qualify in both the UK and Europe and to continue my career in the firm.

Advice

Don’t feel too discouraged when applying for jobs. The patent attorney field is small and it may take time to find the right fit. Just because you don’t get a job straight away it doesn’t mean that the job isn’t right for you!