Patent clerk - Definition and Overview

A patent clerk or patent examiner is an employee, usually a civil servant, working within a patent office and whose work is to examine patent applications as to whether they deserve a patent. The work of patent clercks usually includes searching patent and scientific literature databases for prior art, and substantively examining patent applications, that is examining whether the claimed invention meets the patentability requirements such as novelty, "inventive step" or "non-obviousness", "industrial application" (or "utility") and sufficient disclosure.

Major employers of patent clerks are the European Patent Office, the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the Japanese Patent Office.

Notable patent clerks

• Albert Einstein, who worked for a couple of years at the Swiss Patent Office.

See also

• Patent attorney

Example Usage of Patent