Career Opportunities in Intellectual Property for Science Enthusiast
Intellectual Property refers to an “intangible property” created by the mind, such as innovation, art, literary work, symbols, and images which can be used to gain commercial value. There are basically two categories of Intellectual Properties as depicted in the image below:
Soft Intellectual Property includes trademarks, Copyrights and Designs whereas, Hard Intellectual Property includes patents, Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits and Plant Varieties this type of IP requires at least a little amount of knowledge and understanding in science and technology.
With the increasing economic growth in India, the role of professionals in the field of hard IP is increasing at a rapid speed, as patents are the major drivers for ongoing innovation, technology upliftment, and development of newer products that would revolutionize mankind.
In this article, we will talk about the career opportunities created by Intellectual Property for professional having scientific background.
Career in Intellectual Property for Science Enthusiast
As per the current economic trend patents being a useful type of Intellectual Property and is the only form that protects innovation and novel ideas. The process of pre to post-patent grant requires exclusive technical and scientific expertise in various fields of study be it mechanical, electronics, computer science, biotechnology or any other scientific domain.
Opportunities in the Domain of IP:
| JOB | WORK PROFILE |
| Patent Analyst | To provide a comparative analysis of inventions and patents with the intricacies of technology. |
| Patent Valuers | Expert who decide the market value of a patent on the basis of various financial metrics. |
| Licensing Specialist | Responsible for licensing of Patents. Both inbound and outbound. |
| Patent LPOs (Legal Process Outsourcing) | Several Patent LPOs have established in India. Their job is to prepare, file, prosecute and maintain patents. This needs scientific knowledge to understand the inventions which would help to maintain and prosecute Patents. |
| Patent Drafting Specialist | They draft patent specifications and patent claims in an application. |
| Patent Searcher | The searchers role is to evaluate the invention on various vital para meters such as novelty, non-obviousness before the process of patent drafting and filing. |
| Patent Agents | The role of the Patent Agent is to know him technology behind the invention and help the client for the patent to be granted.
There is an Exam for being a Patent Agent in India which can be given by a person with a technical background. |
| Patent Attorney | A patent attorney is a technical and a legal professional both who represents clients in obtaining patents and in filing a lawsuit in case of infringement by some competitor |
The market and domain of Hard IP has more opportunities for people with a technical degree. The consensus regarding this controversial clause of the Patents Act to necessarily have a technical degree is that you just need to have a scientific passion to thrive based on knowledge and understanding of the client’s business and technological space they work in.
Hence, the wide domain of opportunities provided by this IP is beneficial to all the individual with any scientific background. While having a science background is beneficial, but not mandatory.
LIST OF UNIVERSITIES & INSTITUTE PROVIDING IPR COURSES
- UPES – University of Petroleum and Energy Studies
- Global Institute of Intellectual Property
- Gujarat National Law University
- Indira Gandhi National Open University
- Indian Law Institute
- Indian Institute Of Patent and Trademark
- WIPO Academy Distance Learning
- FICCI- Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry
- IIT Madras
- IIT, Kharagpur
- Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies
- Bioinformatics Institute of India
- Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu
- School of Distance Education, Pune
- New Law College, Bhartiya Vidya Peeth
- Vivekananda Global University
- Indian Academy of Law and Management
- BHU – Banaras Hindu University
- Presidency University, Bangalore
- Vishwakarma University
- LPU – Lovely Professional University
- Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai, VIT University
- University of Mumbai, Kalina Campus
- CUSAT – Cochin University of Science and Technology
- Rayat Bahra University Mohali