Patents Examiner
What the work is
Investigates and reports on patent applications to assess their compliance with the requirements of the Patents Act.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Examines patent applications to determine their compliance with the Patents Act
- Assesses whether patent applications provide an adequate technical description of the invention
- Assesses whether the patent rights sought are justified and match the invention's technical description in the patent application
- Reviews technical specifications, drawings and other supporting documents to ensure they meet the necessary standards
- Conducts searches of online databases to identify similar patents that are held in Australia and overseas
- Prepares reports and recommendations on patent applications to the patent applicant or the applicant's legal representative
- Collaborates with patent attorneys and inventors to clarify technical aspects of the invention, and address any queries or objections
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in the health information department of a fictional regional hospital. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A clinician finds exactly the record they need in seconds because the system you designed works
- A patient asks for their own records and you help them understand what is in them
- An audit finds the department's records in perfect order
Hard days
- A senior person wants access to a record they have no good reason to see
- A system fault means records are missing just as a deadline hits
- Rules about privacy that frustrate people who only want to help
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 223934, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.