Training to become a Patent Attorney in Germany

By training to become a patent attorney, you will add legal knowledge to the technical and scientific expertise you acquired during your studies.

The profession of patent attorney is very diverse and varied. The task of assessing what is legally protectable and enforceable relates not only to the registration and enforcement of technical property rights (patents and utility models), but also to design and trademark law and employee invention law, among other things.

In order to become a patent attorney, you must complete almost 3 years of training following your university studies. The prerequisite is that you have gained initial professional experience as an engineer or scientist after graduating from university, e.g. in the form of industrial internships or a doctorate.

Training to become a German patent attorney

As a candidate preparing for the German patent attorney examination, you will be trained by a patent attorney for 26 months. At the same time, you will learn the theory as part of a distance learning course at the University of Hagen. This is followed by the so-called official year in Munich, during which you will spend 2 months at the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) and 6 months at the Federal Patent Court to gain an insight into the work of examiners and judges.

Professional representative before the EPO

In most cases, after successfully passing the German patent attorney examination, you will work towards admission as a representative before the European Patent Office. As a European Patent Attorney, you are also authorized to represent clients before the European Patent Office.

Engineers as patent attorneys

By training to become a patent attorney, you will learn on the job how to advise and support clients from the filing of an invention to the enforcement and defense of property rights.