What is a Patent Agent?
A USPTO Registered Patent Agent is a licensed patent practitioner. A patent practitioner is a person who is licensed by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to represent inventions and prosecute patents. For inventions, when it comes to patenting services both patent agents and patent attorneys can help inventors seek patent protection for their inventions. Inventors get the same client controlled confidentiality privilege with all licensed patent practitioners whether or not the practitioner is also a licensed lawyer.
Inventor Tip: Writing patent applications is about being able to describe how to make and use the invention to a person who would normally be the one to make that kind of invention. This has a wide range of technical detail required depending on the invention and its complexity. Patent writing is only technically a form of legal writing, it is far more of an art from best left licensed patent practitioners whether patent agent or attorney.
How to Verify a USPTO License to Practice Patenting?
You can verify a persons license to practice represent inventors and prosecute patents at the Office of Enrollment and Discipline at USPTO. Click here to search for a patent practitioner at the USPTO. You can search by the persons name, business or firm name, city, state, country, and registration number. We highly recommend verifying the USPTO license for any person offering to help you with seeking patent protection for your invention. There are many more people out there looking to help than there are actual licensed practitioners. Be sure to check, any person licensed will be able to give you their license number for easy verification.
Our Team Leader is a USPTO Registered Patent Attorney
Carson Patent‘s owner is a licensed patent practitioner is an attorney and a biomedical engineer. Greg was a patent agent before he became a patent attorney. Greg is available for consultations online by video and audio (free consultation links are available on our contact page). Importantly, our team includes a collection of licensed agents and attorneys that offer exceptionally deep knowledge and expertise to help with even the most highly specialized inventions in virtually all areas.
All of our patenting services are directed and supervised by our USPTO registered patent attorney. You can verify the patenting licenses of our team members with links under their personal bio on our team page (available on the menu above). You can verify the patent licenses of our affiliates on their websites, listed on our affiliates page (or contact us and we can provide the verification link).
What Does a Patent Agent Do?
When it comes to helping inventors seek patent protection for their inventions, patent agents do the same things that patent attorneys do. Just like a patent attorney, a patent agent is a licensed patent practitioner. So, like patent attorneys, they generally do what a patent practitioner does. Specifically, all patent practitioners are licensed to work with inventors and entrepreneurs to:
- Protect New Inventions with Patent Application Services;
- Evaluate New and Existing Products and Processes; and
- Provide Worldwide Invention Patenting Services.
When it comes to working with inventors to search, evaluate, write, file, and prosecute patent applications for new inventions and ideas it is frequently much more about a patent practitioners engineering knowledge and experience than whether or not they also went to law school. Also, check out the difference between a patent attorney and agent. Brief summary, it’s a license to practice law – both can prosecute patents.
USPTO Registered Patenting Services Available Online
Like most patent practitioners, patent agents are able to represent inventors and inventions from all over the world and thus generally are available online from wherever you are in the world. The only limitation to being an inventor (at least so far in the U.S.) is being a human, and the humans are all over the world. Patent agents are generally available for meetings online by video and telephone and are thus able to represent people worldwide.
Importantly, only licensed patent practitioners can provide patenting services and prosecute patents. This is true in the U.S. and in most other countries and regions all around the world. Carson Patents offers patenting services provided by USPTO licensed patent practitioners, as well as licensed patent attorneys and agents in other countries and regions as required by those patent offices in those countries or regions through our intellectual property affiliates (see our affiliates page available on the menu above).
How to be a Licensed Patent Agent?
In order to be licensed as a patent practitioner you must become registered with the USPTO. The USPTO has an application to apply to take the examination for registration to practice before the USPTO, known as the patent bar. If you pass the patent bar exam you can become a registered agent or attorney. The requirements to apply to take the patent bar exam don’t really have anything to do with a law degree. Usually potential candidates have engineering degrees or advanced degrees in a specific speciality area of study (such as a doctoral degree).
A license and career as a USPTO registered patent agent do not require a law degree. Patent applications are generally concerned much more with the engineering details and language of persons skilled in the art than the law.
Patent applications are written so that a person having ordinary skill in the art of the invention can make and use the invention. In other words, patent applications are written so that a person who would normally make the invention could. For example, if the invention is simple like a hammer, the patent application would need to be written so that almost any person can make a hammer with it. On the other hand, if the invention is complicated like a robot to use a hammer, the patent application would need to be written so that engineers can make the robot.