Associate Patent Examiner

Great ideas do not discriminate, and anyone can have them. Given the right protection and support, a great idea can become a powerful brand, a transformative technology, an innovative process or design, or even a song or story that moves one’s soul. Housing Singapore’s largest community of intellectual property (IP) experts, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) understands better than anyone how important it is to protect ideas and creations for now and for the future. We leverage our deep technical, legal and business expertise to help innovative enterprises grow, through their intangible assets, including IP, from Singapore, through Singapore. We catalyse the ideas of today, into the assets of tomorrow.

About IPOS International

IPOS International (IPOS Intl) is a private limited company fully owned by IPOS, committed to building Singapore’s future growth as a global hub for intellectual property creation, protection and management. We serve the public sector, investors, private enterprises, not-for-profits, service providers and individuals through patent search and analysis, training and IP management services. Together, we amplify creativity and enable innovation, to realise tangible economic and social value from intangible assets.

How you can contribute

Reporting to the Division Lead, you will join a team of highly skilled and talented professionals to help enterprises innovate and grow by ensuring the grant of high-quality patents.

Role

This position requires you to apply scientific and technical knowledge to the concepts of patent law. You will be required to assess whether an invention is new and judge whether the invention has a technical and legal basis to be granted a patent in Singapore.

Responsibilities

Core Responsibilities

1. Analyse patent applications and identify technical concepts relating to an invention;
2. Conduct searches of the state-of-the-art using specialised databases to investigate whether an invention is new;
3. Conduct substantive examination to ensure an invention complies with patentability criteria required for a patent to be granted;
4. Communicate with applicants or their patent agents through written opinions to present examination outcomes;
5. Consider submissions filed in response to written opinions to advance the prosecution, conducting interviews with applicants or their patent agents to clarify positions where necessary.

General Responsibilities

1. Interpret patent law and apply guidelines in the examination of patent applications;
2. Assess patent applications within area of technical expertise and areas at the periphery;
3. Formulate search strategies for uncovering prior art documents in a cost-efficient manner;
4. Communicate, in writing and verbally, technical and legal arguments, to facilitate prosecution;
5. Discuss and offer technical expertise to peers for inventions that cut across technological domains;
6. Keep pace with technological developments.

Are you the one? Please write to us if you have/are:

1. A strong foundation in science or engineering;
2. Strong analytical and reasoning skills;
3. Ability to communicate effectively in writing and orally;
4. Driven to excel and meet challenges;
5. Constantly curious, enjoy learning and applying new skills;
6. Strong interpersonal skills, leadership qualities and a team player who can be part of a network of technical experts.

In particular, we are looking for someone to join our team with:

1. At least a good class Honours degree in Science or Engineering;
2. Familiarity in the one of the following specialised fields will be a plus:
3. Immunology or in biotechnology with a focus on protein engineering; or
4. Wireless communication and audio video coding standards such as 3GPP, IEEE; or
5. Organic chemistry with experience in drug discovery and development; or
6. Opto-electronics or semiconductor memory devices;

Successful candidates will go through a structured training programme in patent law and patent search and examination. You will have opportunities to attend professional training courses and seminars to keep pace with the latest developments in your technical field.

To apply for this position, please email your CV to careers@iposinternational.com