IPReg has developed skill sets for trainee patent and trade mark attorneys which we hope will assist both trainees and their supervisors in tracking progress towards qualification.
The Trade Mark Skill Set borrows heavily from the CITMA Diary.
These are not binding requirements but we hope that they will prove useful tools in understanding the necessary breadth and depth of knowledge.
IPReg Competency Framework for Patent Attorneys
IPReg Competency Framework for Trade Mark Attorneys
In September 2021, IPReg updated the Competency Frameworks for Patent Attorneys and Trade Mark Attorneys. The changes of substance are:
1. To remove competency requirements in respect of EU Trade Marks and EU Designs, given that registration as a UK Patent Attorney or UK Trade Mark Attorney will not give representation rights at the EUIPO.
2. To add competency requirements in respect of Hague Agreement International Designs.
Please also see the IPReg Practical Training Protocol Template. The qualification pathway to becoming a registered UK attorney includes both examinations and experience requirements (please see Chapter 3 to the Core Regulatory Framework, paragraphs 1.1 – 1.3 and in the Admission and Authorisation Standard Operating Procedure (“SOP”), paragraphs 1 – 20). The one-page IPReg Practical Training Protocol Template has been developed as a voluntary guidance tool for both trainees in, and supervisors of, the experience element. It aims to help those who consider they would benefit from having a written framework in which to train/be trained. It can be altered and added to as required by the parties signing up to it. The Protocol signposts both parties to the Competency Frameworks above setting out the general and technical skill sets within which a trainee attorney is expected to work when undertaking IP legal services.
IPReg expects that employers of trainees, whether firms or other non-regulated organisations, will ensure those they train have the support they need to achieve the required qualifications for admission to the register. Employers should ensure that their trainees' workloads are such that they have the time required to attend necessary courses and undertake the self-study and preparation required to participate in such courses and undertake the assessments.