Marsha Black can go to work late if she wants. Her job as a patent examiner
allows her do some work at home.
"The work arrangements are flexible," she says. And she adds, "As the work
involves reading, writing and working at a computer, there should be little
difficulty for most of the physically challenged."
Her work has many elements. "There is often a need to apply engineering
and scientific principles in examination. Math skills are not specifically
required in all technical areas," she says.
"The patent examiner is constantly called on to make decisions in determining
the allowance or the rejection of a patent application, and to report clearly
the reasons for her decisions to the applicant. In order to prepare reports
outlining the rationale for decisions, good writing skills are essential."
One of the harder parts of the job for her is that the job involves sitting
in front of a computer for most of the day. However, she still enjoys her
work. "It is a challenging job, where we are afforded the opportunity to learn
new things every day, including major scientific breakthroughs," she says.
"We often see very unusual patent applications. It is always exciting to
examine applications from Nobel Prize winners."
Leonard Heyman is a patent agent who used to work for the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office (U.S. PTO). He says his schedule is comfortable. Flextime
allows him to arrive between 6:30 and 9:30 a.m. and leave between 3 p.m. and
7 p.m.
Math skills are important. "Sometimes, even in areas you wouldn't
expect, math plays an important role. While it is important to understand
the concepts or purpose of math, it is not generally the examiner's job
to check the applicant's math," says Heyman.
"Remember that inventors have been working on their inventions for a long
time. They may have doctorate degrees in their field, and all you have is
a few hours to review the disclosure for its adequacy and search for prior
art." Prior art means patents relating to the same general field as the application
being examined.
Decision-making skills are another matter. "They are absolutely essential,"
he says. "If you can't make a decision, good or bad, and live with it,
this is not the job for you. You must determine how far an applicant is permitted
to go in claiming their invention.
"Also, you must live with your mistakes. Examiners are protected by law
and can't be coerced into testifying at a trial, so it is safe to make
mistakes. Of course, if you make too many or embarrass the office, it'll
cost you in other ways."
When Heyman worked at the U.S. PTO, he enjoyed the freedom to work on his
own. "Even after a year, I was given a private office with a door I could
close and lock if I chose to. A private office is important because examining
can be very meticulous work and requires a great deal of concentration. But
to me, it was just as important to have my own space and privacy," he says.
Dean Cornstubble is another former employee of the U.S. PTO. He says decision-making
skills are paramount. "Your decisions on rejection or acceptance of patent
application claims could decide certain future economic markets in America
and the world," he says.
The best part of the work for Cornstubble was that "you were not allowed
to bring your work home with you. If you did, you were compromising confidential
information."
An examiner needs to be flexible. "To be good at my job, I needed to master
a scientific or engineering discipline and learn the patent statutes, rules
and examining procedures," says patent examiner Leo Boudreau.
Boudreau thinks back to his first year at the patent office and reflects
that getting through the first year was the hardest part of the job. "There
is so much to learn and little time to learn it. Even 30 years later, I still
remember my struggles during the first year."
Boudreau has looked at more than a few applications. He recalls the strangest
one:
"The inventor showed up with his secretary, a reporter from a local newspaper
and two large boulders. He placed one of the rocks on my friend's desk
and the other rock on a table many feet away. My friend was asked to write
words at random on a sheet of paper out of site of the secretary.
"The inventor then proceeded to whisper the words into one of the rocks
while his secretary held her ear to the other rock. Lo and behold,
she was able to shout every word aloud."
The rocks never worked when placed in different rooms, nor could anyone
other than the inventor or his secretary ever hear any words come out of them.
"Things this bizarre rarely happen in the high-tech stuff, but they are refreshing
when they do happen, and we do try to keep an open mind," says Boudreau.