A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing patent applications and oppositions to granted patents.
Terminology The term "patent attorney" is used differently in different countries and thus may or may not require the same legal qualifications as a general legal practitioner.
The titles patent agent and patent lawyer are also used in some jurisdictions. In some jurisdictions, the terms are interchangeable; in others, the latter is used only if the person is qualified as a lawyer.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys (FICPI) propose since 2022 a Patent Drafting Training Program to enhance the knowledge and skills of professionals, such as patent agents, who wish to strengthen their patent drafting skills.
Role A study analyzing patent examination decisions at major patent offices shows that patent attorney firms play a crucial role in the prosecution process, especially in less codified and rapidly changing technology areas such as ICT.
Qualification regimes In Europe, requirements for practising as patent attorney before national patent offices should be distinguished from those needed for practising before the European Patent Office (EPO) or the Eurasian Patent Office (EAPO). On the national level, the requirements are not harmonized.
Australia Registration as a patent attorney in Australia and New Zealand is administered by the Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board (the Board).
To apply to become a Trans-Tasman patent attorney, one must:
pass the nine topics set out in Schedule 5 to the Patent Regulations 1991. hold a suitable tertiary educational qualification in a field of technology that contains potentially patentable subject matter. be a resident in Australia or New Zealand have been employed in a position or positions, for at least 2 continuous years or a total of 2 years within 5 continuous years, that provide the applicant experience in the following skills: searching patent records; preparation filing and prosecution of patent applications in Australia and with other countries; drafting of patent specifications; and provision of advice on interpretation, infringement and validity. be of good fame, integrity or character, and not have been convicted within the past five years of offences against Patents, Trade Marks and Designs legislation.
Until the late 1990s, topics were mainly taught and examined by members of the patent attorney profession under the oversight of the PSB, but this process has now been brought into the university system within Australia.
Once registered, a Patent and Trademark Attorney may be elected as a Fellow of the Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia.
Canada
To become a registered patent agent in Canada one must complete a series of four qualifying exams over four days. As of May 1, 2014, a patent agent trainee can sit the exams if the trainee is a resident in Canada and has worked in Canada in the area of Canadian patent law and practice, including the preparation and prosecution of applications, for a period of at least 24 months. Up to 12 months of practical experience will also be recognized for those entitled to practice before the patent office of another country. One may also qualify to sit for the exams if the individual is a resident of Canada and has been employed for at least 24 months on the examining staff at the Canadian patent office.
Each of the four exams (also referred to individually as Paper A, B, C, and D) is four hours in length. Paper A relates to the drafting of a patent application. Paper B relates to the validity of a patent. Paper C relates to the preparation of a response to an Official Action. Paper D relates to the infringement of a patent. Unlike the US system, the Canadian examination format is paper based with a variety of essay-type and short answer questions and is offered at least once a year, typically in April. Results are typically known within 5 months.
With a first-time passing rate near 1% and an overall passing rate of 7% in 2012 and trending downwards, the exam is notoriously challenging and most applicants attempt the exam over several years. To pass, candidates must score a minimum of 50 out of 100 on each paper, with a minimum aggregate mark of 240 on all four papers. Recent amendments to the pass requirements enable candidates to carry forward marks for a paper (if greater than 60 out of 100) if the minimum aggregate mark is not achieved or if the candidate failed one of the papers.
Review courses are held each summer and fall by IPIC (Intellectual Property Institute of Canada). The summer course tends to be more general in scope than the fall course, where drafting practice examinations is emphasised.
Once certified, a registered patent agent is given powers under the Canadian Patent Act to represent applicants applying to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office to obtain patent protection.
European Patent Organisation
The task of the European Patent Office (EPO), which is the main organ of the European Patent Organisation, is to grant European patents (and also to hear and determine third-party challenges to the validity of European patents, in opposition proceedings).See and also EPC Part V from to Article 105 inclusive. The EPO exists by virtue of the European Patent Convention (EPC), and is not legally bound to the European Union.
To legally represent clients (generally patent applicants, proprietors and opponents) before the EPO, a patent attorney must first be registered to act in that capacity as a professional representative. To be registered, an individual must qualify as a European patent attorney and, to that end, must pass a written examination, the European Qualifying Examination (EQE).European Patent Office web site, European qualifying examination, consulted on December 10, 2011. The EQE consists of four papers sat over four days, each day lasting between 3 hours and six and a half hours. Those who enroll for the examination must have an engineering or scientific degree (though long experience in a scientific domain can be sufficient under certain limited conditions), and the candidate must also have practised under supervision for at least 36 months in the domain of national or European patent law.
The EPC sets out the circumstances under which an applicant for a European patent must be represented by a professional representative in proceedings before the EPO. Typically, a representative is required if the patent applicant (or all of them if more than one) does not have a place of business in an EPC contracting state.
France In France, the practionners working in private practice in the field of industrial property are designated as conseils en propriété industrielle (industrial property counsel) or "CPI". They advise and represent third parties before the French Industrial Property Office (Institut national de la propriété industrielle or INPI). In English, they are designated as patent attorneys. Attorneys at law may also represent third parties before this office.
These practionners may be specialized in trademarks and designs, in which case they are lawyers, or in patents of invention, in which case they have a scientific or technical background.
The profession of conseil en propriété industrielle, as well as the use of this professional title, is regulated by Book IV of the legislative part of the French Intellectual Property Code.
The professional title conseil en propriété industrielle is required for representing third parties before the INPI in matters relating to patents, trademarks, and designs, although representation before the INPI may nevertheless be carried out through other means provided by law, notably through a lawyer or a company contractually linked to the applicant.
All CPIs are members of the Compagnie nationale des conseils en propriété industrielle (CNCPI), the French National Institute of Patent and Trademark Attorneys, the national regulatory professional organization for the profession. The CNCPI is a legal entity established by law to represent CPIs before government authorities, defend their professional interests, ensure compliance with professional ethical rules, and promote awareness of the profession.
There are currently more than 1,120 CPIs throughout France. The CNCPI and the INPI each maintain an up-to-date directoryof industrial property attorneys and their firms. These lists are freely accessible online.
CPIs specialized in trademarks and designs are also representatives before the European Union Intellectual Property Office. CPIs specialized in patents of invention are most often also representatives before the European Patent Office and frequently also representatives before the Unified Patent Court.
Access to the profession Registration on the list of CPIs maintained by the INPI is mandatory in order to practise as a CPI. In summary, registration requires an appropriate technical, scientific or legal qualification and a sufficient level of academic qualification in industrial property. In addition, applicants must successfully pass a qualifying examination or meet the conditions for access to the profession through the procedure known as validation of prior learning and experience (VAE).
CPIs must act in accordance with the professional ethics of the profession. They must also fulfil their periodic obligations regarding continuing professional education.
Professional ethics of industrial property attorneys CPIs comply with strict professional ethical rules. These rules derive from the provisions of the French Intellectual Property Code concerning the profession and from the CNCPI internal regulations. The latter, approved by an order of 8 March 2025 in its latest version, is available on the CNCPI website and on the INPI website.
The main rules concern:
independence, professional secrecy, confidentiality of professional communications, prevention and management of conflicts of interest, loyalty towards the client, competence and maintenance of knowledge, obligations concerning integrity ("Probité (Honnêteté)"), honour and propriety, absence of professional incompatibilities, advertising and professional communications, case management and document retention, relations with other CPIs and other legal professionals, transparency regarding fees and billing, professional liability and insurance, and compliance with legal and regulatory obligations.
Breaches of professional ethics may be sanctioned by a disciplinary chamber provided for by the aforementioned Code and chaired by a professional judge. Sanctions may consist of a warning, a reprimand, or temporary or permanent removal from the list of CPIs.
Germany In Germany, only Patentanwälte/patent attorneys (or Rechtsanwälte/attorneys-at-Law, who are per se entitled to represent clients in all fields of law) are entitled to represent clients from abroad before the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA). German patent attorneys have done their university degrees in engineering or natural sciences and practised in industry before being accepted for an additional three years' education, i. e. completing legal training of 26 month with an established German patent attorney, at the same time studies of German Law and afterwards a training in intellectual property and an examination at the DPMA. They are further entitled to represent their clients before the German federal court of patents (and trademarks) and in patent cases (nullity) before the German Supreme Court.§ 111 IV PatG
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