Marc Maidment, Patent Attorney and Director, shares his path into the industry alongside some advice for aspiring attorneys.
Q: What route did you take to enter the IP industry?
My degree was in chemistry, solely out of love for the subject. I really didn’t know what I was going to do career wise at that age. What I did know was that I loved science in general, and chemistry in particular. It always seemed like the most ‘real-world’ science to me.
After university, I spent a couple of years working for a multinational on the software side of things. When my contract was up, I sat down and did some introspection about what I really wanted from a career. Becoming a Patent Attorney came up as part of that process.
Once I was set on that direction, I told my mum. Funnily enough, she said ‘oh do you remember, a friend of the family said you should go into IP when you were 14.’ I had no conscious memory of this at all, but maybe it had been in the back of my mind all along? After a few interviews, I came to Albright IP and I’ve been here ever since, qualifying as a Patent Attorney for both the UK and Europe.
Q: What does your day-to-day role at Albright IP involve?
It’s hugely varied. Sometimes you’ve got to be reactive and do a bit of firefighting. For the most part, there’s a day-to-day plan of things to do. That might involve drafting, training, and communicating with clients. I would say that 90-95% of my day is spent on patents, but there’s design and copyright stuff too. The variety is my favourite element.
Q: What advice would you give someone who wants to get into IP?
You need to be or become good at three things. First, you need to be good on the technical side, whether that’s science, engineering, something STEM. A subject you love, as well as something you’re good at.
Second, you have to be strong at written debate, able to craft a compelling case. Oral debate can be part of it too, but you’ll mostly be trying to avoid having to present your case verbally at a hearing.
Third, a good command of your chosen language is essential. That’s normally English for us, but you might want to work more often in European markets.
If you’re not already good at two of those things, you need to start becoming good. And be willing to work on the third.
Q: You’ve talked about skills, but what characteristics should a Patent Attorney have?
Perseverance. You’re not going to get rubber-stamped good news on everything; it’s just not going to happen. Versatility and adaptability are important too, because you’ll be switching communication styles a lot. How you talk to the patent office is different to how you need to talk to clients or colleagues.
Curiosity is maybe the most important characteristic. You’ve got to genuinely want to understand how things work. With our workload, we’re not just covering iterations of the same thing. We have to get our heads around a huge range of topics.
Q: Why should people come and work for Albright IP over anywhere else?
The variety is king. I love chemistry, but I don’t necessarily only ever want to work on chemical applications. At a big London firm, I’d be put in a corner to do the same thing every day.
Because of our size, trainee patent attorneys see all stages of prosecution and post-grant work. You learn everything; drafting, filing, search and examination stages, reporting, renewals, client communications, infringement and validity work. All sorts.
Our structure also helps people learn faster and more effectively. It’s a flat hierarchy, so you’ll be interacting with people at all levels of the business. Learning on the job is easier that way.
Client side, you’ll be talking directly with CEOs, R&D managers, Directors. Wherever the new ideas are coming from, that’s your point of contact. That diversity and directness of experience is as useful for your career as formal training and exams.
All of that’s what makes this a unique place to work.
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