What are the employment prospects of patent agents and the demand in the next five years?

Under the background of China's entry into WTO and increasingly fierce competition among enterprises, owning patents can not only help enterprises gain profits and enhance their core competitiveness, but also take corresponding defensive measures when they are impacted by competitors. According to statistics, 75% of patent applications in China are completed by agents. With the strengthening of intellectual property protection, China needs more and more patent agents. As a new profession, patent agent plays an important role as a "bridge" in the process of high-tech industrialization, and has become an increasingly optimistic profession.

Occupation introduction Patent agents are professionals who have passed the examination of China National Intellectual Property Administration, worked in patent agencies approved by the state, and engaged in patent agency applications, intellectual property consulting and other related businesses. The duties of patent agents include writing applications for inventors, defending and correcting the opinions of patent office examiners, and helping inventors handle court proceedings in case of disputes. If a foreign-related patent agent is involved, the patent agent will also translate the foreign materials into Chinese and make amendments according to the patent law.

Because the field of intellectual property is more about contacting some high-tech and high-tech projects. I have a good background in science and engineering consistent with the field of agency, so I can better understand this technology or product. China National Intellectual Property Administration Patent Office requires Patent examiners to have a degree in science and engineering. In addition, patent agents also have high requirements for language skills, including the ability to control Chinese and English. The official language of patent application in China is Chinese, and patent agents need to have a certain understanding and application of Chinese. In addition, because many agents need to contact foreign customers, and foreign customers can use English, German, Korean and other different languages, English is a necessary condition for agents engaged in foreign-related business, and it would be better if they can master a second small language.

A good patent agent can not only represent patent cases, but also have the ability to operate patents in the market, and also have considerable social experience and social relations. Therefore, patent agent is a compound talent with both patent legal knowledge and patent technical knowledge, which requires high comprehensive quality. Engaged in this major abroad, first of all, you must have a lawyer's qualification before you can apply for a patent agent qualification certificate.

Present situation and prospect From the national situation, there are more than 7.8 million large and small enterprises, only more than 2,000 with independent intellectual property rights, 99% of enterprises have not applied for patents, and as many as 60% of domestic enterprises do not even have their own trademarks. The media survey of Chengdu and Mianyang, two national high-tech zones, shows that 80% of local enterprises do not have a trained patent worker.

The competition between Chinese and foreign enterprises for intellectual property talents has also begun to heat up, and the role of intellectual property talents in enterprises is becoming more and more important. On the one hand, some important patent applications of enterprises need to be completed in time through patent agents. On the other hand, when an enterprise finds a patent that poses a great threat to itself in the competition, or when a competing enterprise files a patent lawsuit against it, it needs a patent agent to safeguard its own rights and interests. In recent years, some enterprises suffering from intellectual property rights have begun to introduce a considerable number of intellectual property talents. The intellectual property departments of multinational companies such as Siemens, IBM, Intel and Microsoft are all hundreds of people, and Sony has more than 400 intellectual property professionals.

Most business leaders said that they were not unaware of the importance of intellectual property rights to the future development, but suffered from the lack of professionals who were familiar with production technology and laws and regulations, and were competent in the planning, litigation and management of intellectual property rights. As the main base for training intellectual property talents, colleges and universities are out of touch with the actual needs of society, emphasizing theoretical study of intellectual property law and lacking practical operation training. The Eleventh Five-Year Plan for Intellectual Property Talents issued by China National Intellectual Property Administration pointed out that the number, structure, quality and ability of intellectual property professionals in China can not meet the needs of economic and social development, and there is a serious shortage of high-level compound talents urgently needed for the development of intellectual property.

Patent agent is one of the highest paid occupations in the west. The average annual income of a patent agent in Germany is about 654.38 million marks, or about 500,000 RMB. The patent application price in China is ten times lower than that abroad. The agency fee for an invention patent in the United States is about $5,000, while in China it is only several thousand RMB. The wages of domestic patent agents still can't reach the level of foreign countries. Patent agents are paid by piece, and their income is directly related to the number of cases accepted. The annual salary is about 60,000 yuan, with a maximum of 200,000 yuan. With China's increasing attention to intellectual property rights after China's entry into WTO, patent agency affairs will also be in line with international standards, and there is great potential for patent agents' salary and treatment to rise. Among them, agents with rich experience, stable customer channels and tight professional fields have considerable income.

Judging from the recruitment requirements of various enterprises, patent agents are similar to lawyers and only accept experienced talents. It is difficult to enter this industry, and the threshold is very high. Generally speaking, you need to pass the patent agent qualification examination first, and then enter the relevant company 1 year to become a formal employee of the patent agency company before you can obtain the agent practice certificate. Young people who have just entered the business usually have to work hard for 3-5 years. After a long period of study and actual combat, I can be promoted from assistant to qualified patent agent.

With the rapid development of China's economy, the number of patent applications will continue to increase. In order to adapt to the increasing number of patent applications, China National Intellectual Property Administration Patent Office has continuously expanded its examination team, employing 263 people in 2003 and 233 people in 2004. From 2005 to 20 10, the number of planned employees is expected to be no less than 300 each year. Since 2006, China National Intellectual Property Administration has changed the examination from biennial to annual, and more and more people apply for the patent agent examination. Professor Zheng Shengli from Peking University Intellectual Property Research Institute introduced that by 20 10, the total demand for intellectual property talents in China is estimated to be 55,000 to 60,000, among which the number of high-level intellectual property professionals exceeds 1000; By 2020, the number of intellectual property professionals in China is expected to increase by 25,000 to 30,000, including 3,000 high-level professionals.

Intellectual property is a booming business in China. In the chain of intellectual property work, whether it is the creation and management of intellectual property, or the transformation and application of intellectual property achievements and market protection, professional input is urgently needed. With the widespread concern about intellectual property rights from all walks of life, the relevant institutions have become increasingly sound, their working faces have been broadened, their business contents have been refined, their work fronts have been stretched, and their workload has expanded rapidly. The demand for professionals will be more and more urgent, and patent agents will become a hot new generation of "golden collars" and one of the most promising hot occupations in China society.

Patent agent (the title of "patent agent" in the Patent Agency Regulations (Draft for Review) published by the State Council Legislative Affairs Office in February, 201/2000 is changed to "patent agent") refers to the person who has obtained the patent agent qualification certificate, holds the patent agent practice certificate and is engaged in patent agency work full-time.