Persons engaged in intellectual property management are not necessarily lawyers or patent attorneys. Instead these jobs often require a mix of skills, that of management and procedure, strong knowledge of patent laws and trends and trademark laws or design. In many cases, the person may hold a degree in business, or a related field with an advanced degree in Intellectual property management. In other cases, they have a law background, and have taken courses in patent law, intellectual property and naturally have administrative and business backgrounds as well as experience in the industry.
Companies that commonly produce original creative products or artistic works may employ an intellectual property management specialist on a full time or contract basis. Having the copyrights, trademarks or patent can keep that product belonging to the individual or the firm.
The responsibilities of an intellectual property manager jobs may be that of simply insuring that patents are registered promptly or it could be as complex as protecting intellectual property, security, trademark laws, payments, and establishing policies and procedures for the company or individual.
Intellectual property management may not require a specific degree though business and technology degrees may be helpful and a law degree is certainly advantageous but in order to present a compelling resume, then courses in patents and trademark laws can be the key to finding a good job.
Experience as well as education is important and any work experience dealing with intellectual property management and laws or the industry in which the company is engaged.
Dealing with intellectual property laws requires an eye for detail and strong research abilities as well as administrative experience or training.
Graduates of law school can acquire valuable work experience by serving an internship with an intellectual property management firm even if they plan to go into consultancy the practical aspects and the experience will be well worth the time invested.
Finding and Landing the Intellectual Property Management Job You Want
Once you are resume is in order it is time to begin the job search. One of the first places you may want to investigate is local patent attorneys and technological companies. Intellectual property management is usually done from the main office even in large companies so if you do not live in an urban area you may have to consider relocating.
Intellectual property manager opportunities can be found in almost all industries, including individual artists, the health industry, recording studios. The field is very open and an attorney with a strong background in intellectual property issues can usually find intellectual property manager jobs within the company themselves or can work on a consultancy basis.
The internet search has become a standard for job seekers and for recruiters. Using an internet job search will allow the hopeful intellectual property manager job seeker to widen the search and uncover opportunities not available to them on a local basis. It should be noted by the job seeker that there are generic job searches that handle everything from dishwashers to hospital administrators or there are intellectual property career sites that handle only those interested in hiring an intellectual property manager or those seeking intellectual property manager jobs. Company recruiters will often visit the specialized sites for the professional their company or firm requires.
Patent law firms, intellectual property management firms and individual companies themselves offer intellectual property manager jobs and are excellent experience for those just starting out.
If your employment search does not produce local opportunities and you are willing to relocate be sure and update your profile and your resume to match this. Many times recruiters in search of an intellectual property manager may be widening their search as well. Though intellectual property management jobs are increasing, they are not always found right where you are located.
In all cases when you are searching for that job, you should dedicate several hours a day to call backs, researching new postings and above all do not give up. The search will yield results.
- See Top 10 Reasons Most Law Firms Have No Idea How to Hire and Evaluate Patent Attorneys for more information.
