Traineeship Patent Attorney
Patent Attorney, what’s that?
As a patent attorney, you play an important role in bringing innovation to the market. You will advise clients about protecting their inventions and knowledge and actively help them manage and develop their patent portfolio. Within your team, you will be partnered with an experienced attorney and from day one you will be actively involved in the day-to-day business.
Training course Dutch Patent Attorney
Sharina tells you more about the training
What will you be doing?
Briefly, inventors come to NLO to apply for a patent for their inventions. These inventors vary from promising start-ups to multinational companies to university knowledge centres. As a patent attorney, you draft the patent application, support the application procedure and conduct any litigation proceedings in court.
Combining practice and theory
As a trainee patent attorney, you join one of our sector teams (Chemistry & Pharmacy, Life Sciences, Physics & Engineering, Telecommunications & Software). Within your team you are partnered with an experienced patent attorney and coach to be actively involved in the day-to-day business from the start. You also follow the Dutch and/or European Professional Training Course for Patent Attorneys, which focuses on legal knowledge, as well as communicative and practical skills. After passing the exams, you will become a chartered Dutch and/or European patent attorney.
Training course European Patent Attorney
Gamze tells you more about the training
How to become a Patent Attorney at NLO
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The traineeship at NLO takes around 3 years. You start with our 100 days onboarding programme. During these days you will get to know the company, your colleagues and our clients. You will immediately start working in the field, while also attending the patent attorney training course. As a trainee patent attorney, you will grow into an independent consultant for innovative organisations, under the intensive supervision of an experienced patent attorney.
NLO Academy
During your traineeship, you will start at the NLO Academy: a varied in-house learning programme. The NLO Academy helps trainees get to know the organisation. Colleagues from various layers in the organisation explain their daily tasks, so you quickly become familiar with their activities. Together with fellow trainees you train to improve your soft skills in project management, presenting yourself professionally, communicating with clients and cooperating in an international workplace. The training courses are given by experts in the field: your own colleagues.
The NLO Academy is a great way of getting to know the company and the people. It is also a good way to become better acquainted with fellow trainees and the experienced staff. The NLO Academy does not have a permanent base, so trainees get to see all the NLO offices. Once a month, informal drinks are arranged.
The aim of the NLO Academy is to make trainees feel at home at NLO and share experiences with like-minded trainees.
Year 1: Dutch Patent attorney
Depending if you speak Dutch or English, you follow the Stichting Beroeps Opleiding (SBO) or the Bournemouth training for Dutch Patent attorney. SBO is a two-year weekly Dutch lecture given by Delta Patents. The training consists of 6 different courses to prepare you on the exam for Dutch Patent attorney. Courses such as: law general, communication skills, patent law and practical skills like drafting and defending a patent application, and drafting an opinion on validity of and infringement of a patent.
If you don’t speak Dutch, you follow the Bournemouth training. This is a English training of three weekends and one exam. During your training, you will learn how to write a patent application, how grant procedures work and about the administrative and financial side of patent applications.
Year 2: Preparation European Qualified Examination
In your second year, while still working on the final subjects for Dutch Patent attorney you start preparing for the European Qualified Examination (EQE). You prepare on the EQE by following weekly training by Delta Patents and take your first EQE pre-examination.
At the end of year 2 you finish the training for Dutch Patent attorney. You are officially sworn in as a Qualified Dutch Patent attorney at the Orde van Octrooigemachtigde.
Year 3: European Qualified Examination
Once you have passed the pre EQE exam, you can start with the main exam of the EQE. Last year you had a lot of preparation. This year you will enter another practice exam at CEIPI, before doing the EQE. This consists four papers, in which you will, among other things, draft patent applications and answering legal questions.
After passing this exam, you will be registered in the Register of European Patent Attorneys.
Working as a Qualified Patent Attorney
At the of your traineeship, you’re working in the field as a Qualified Dutch and European Patent Attorney. You work with your own client portfolio that you have built up over the past few years.
Any questions? Contact us!
If you are interested in one of our vacancies or would like to have first hand information, please feel free to contact our recruiter Theres. She can connect you with one of our colleagues. They are happy to talk to you about the job and answer all your questions. Please feel free to contact our recruiter Theres.
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