Patent attorneys

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 an opposition.
 
This term 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 generally used only if the person qualified as a lawyer.

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).

On the national level, the requirements are not harmonized across the European Union, except that the EU makes sure that respective professional qualifications are mutually recognised to some degree.

There are special qualification requirements in different countries:

In Australia registration as a patent attorney is administered by the Professional Standards Board for Patents and Trade Marks Attorneys . To apply to become an Australian 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, 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 has the rwquired experience. 

In Canada to become a registered patent agent one must complete a series of four qualifying exams after having worked in the field for 12 months. Each of the four exams is four hours in length. Unlike the US system, the Canadian examination format is paper based with a variety of essay-type and short answer questions and is offered once yearly in April. Results are mailed in the summer of the same year. The exam is notoriously challenging and most applicants attempt the exam over several years. Once certified, a registered patent agent is given powers under the Canadian Patent Act to represent applicants applying to the Canadian Patent Office to obtain patent protection. Canadian registered patent agents may apply for U.S. patent agent status in order to act on behalf of Canadian resident applicants before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

European Patent Organisation The European Patent Office is not legally bound to the European Union, instead being an international body set up under an entirely different international treaty, the European Patent Convention (EPC). In order to be entitled to 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). In order to enroll for the examination, an engineering or scientific degree is required, though long experience in a scientific domain can be sufficient under certain very limited conditions, and the candidate must also have practised under supervision for at least three years in the domain of national or European patent law. Typically, a representative is required if the patent applicant (or all of them if more than one) do not have a place of business in an EPC contracting state.

In France patent attorneys must hold a degree in engineering or natural sciences, and take part in a legal training course at the CEIPI (French: Centre d'Études Internationales de la Propriété Intellectuelle). They also have to take an exam, generally referred to as "EQF" by the students, organized by the French Patent Office (INPI). The exam involves a written and an oral part. 

In Germany only Patent Attorneys (or Attorneys-at-Law, who are 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 two years with an established attorney, at the same time studies of German Law and afterwards a training in intellectual property and an examination at the DPMA. Independent from their nationality, any natural person or any legal person who does not domiciled in Germany or who has no place of business in Germany needs to be represented by a German patent attorney or attorney-at-law to participate in procedures and to claim any rights before the DPMA and the German federal court of patents (Bundespatentgericht, BPatG).

In India, a person registered to practice before Indian Patent Office is called a "Registered Patent Agent" or simply "Patent agent". The Indian Patent Law specifically does not mention the designation of "Patent Attorney". The Indian Patent Agent can thus be considered the counterpart of the Patent Attorney in Australia, EPO or Japan. Indian Patent Office conducts a qualifying examination for patent agent registration yearly. Indian Patent Law requires a science or technical degree to appear for the qualifying examination. Other criteria for eligibility include being an Indian Citizen, and 21 years of age.

Ireland - the applicant must reside and has a place in a member state of the European Union and possesses the prescribed educational and professional qualifications (employment for at least 3 years in the office of a registered patent agent in an EU member state, first-year university (or equivalent) education in engineering, chemistry, or physics, etc).

New Zealand. To become registered as a Patent Attorney in New Zealand, one must: be a New Zealand citizen, Commonwealth citizen (British subject) or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland, be aged 21 (twenty one) years of age or over, have passed the New Zealand Patent Attorney Examinations, be of good character, have been employed for a period(s) of at least three years by a Patent Attorney in New Zealand, The Patent Office, or in a form of employment that offers substantially similar practical experience. Registration as a Patent Attorney may then lead to election as a Fellow in the New Zealand Institute of Patent Attorneys. Australian Patent Attorneys are able to obtain registration to become New Zealand Patent Attorneys, and vice versa, as a result of a trans Tasman agreement between the two countries.

There are specialyzed intellectual property patent attorneys directories, in which patent attorneys from differencti countries may be found.