A patent agent acts principally for his clients in the prosecution of patents, rendering his advice on the patentability of their inventions, drafting the patent specifications and the prosecution of the patent applications before the patent office. Whilst an individual may be able to perform these functions on his own without obtaining any professional assistance, patent agents are legally and/or technically trained in this profession to meet the above demands.
In addition, patent agents are familiar with the requirements of the patent laws in the jurisdictions that they practise in, and possess general knowledge of the patent laws in other jurisdictions. They should be able to advise clients on the strategies to be employed in overseas filing and the course to proceed at various stages of the patent application.
The Patent (Patent Agents) Rules 2001 [Rules] and sections 104 and 105 of the Patents Act relate to patent agents, and they came into force on 2 January 2002. They regulate the patent agent profession in Singapore.
Generally, a patent agent should be hired at the onset of a patent application, as it is advisable to seek professional assistance from a patent agent who is trained to draft patent specifications. The drafting of the patent specifications should be performed by the patent agent to cover both the legal and technical aspects before obtaining a date of filing. Care is required in drafting it, as a patent application once filed cannot be amended to include additional matter. The applicant should be mindful that claims that are not well drafted might result in him obtaining a patent that cannot be enforced.
A patent agent is equipped with both the technical and legal skills to ensure that the invention is correctly, accurately and broadly described in the specification in order to protect the applicant's rights. Applicants who perform this function on their own may not have the skills to have their specification drafted broadly enough to ensure that potential infringers cannot get around it.