Associate Patent Examiner

Job Title: Associate Patent Examiner (Patent Search, Examination and Analytics), IPOS International

Location: Singapore

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.

How you can contribute

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.

About the 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.

Job Responsibilities

Core Responsibilities

• Analyse patent applications and identify technical concepts relating to an invention
• Conduct searches of the state‐of‐the‐art using specialised databases to investigate whether an invention is new
• Conduct substantive examination to ensure an invention complies with patentability criteria required for a patent to be granted
• Communicate with applicants or their patent agents through written opinions to present examination outcomes
• 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

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

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

• A strong foundation in science or engineering
• Strong analytical and reasoning skills
• Strong ability to communicate effectively in both written and spoken English
• Driven to excel and meet challenges
• Constantly curious, enjoy learning and applying new skills
• 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:

• At least a good class Honours degree in Science or Engineering
• Familiarity in one of the following specialised fields will be a plus:

‐ Immunology or in biotechnology with a focus on protein engineering; or
‐ Wireless communication and audio video coding standards such as 3GPP, IEEE; or
‐ Drug conjugates, medicinal chemistry, organic chemistry or polymers; or
‐ Semiconductor memory devices, Mechanical or Civil Engineering

• Experience in patent prosecution or completion of Specialist Certificate in Intangible Asset Management/Master of IP and Innovation Management would be an advantage.

The role will be based in Singapore. 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 [email protected]

We regret to inform that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

About IPOS International

IPOS International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, aims to catalyseindustry and enterprise growth by providing IP expertise. To achieve this, we will offer committed and passionate individuals a place where their talent and opinions are valued. To succeed as an organisation, we believe in empowering individuals while working as a team of professionals with honesty and displaying integrity as core values. We invest heavily in our people so that they get the training and development they need to succeed.

For more information on IPOS International, please visit www.iposinternational.com.