- Patent Attorneys: Second most depressing job in Australia (regular lawyers are No. 1). LINK
- The House IP Subcommittee held a hearing on April 26 on patent reform, speakers included Gary Griswold (3M), Anthony Peterman (Dell), Kevin Sharer (CEO Amgen), Jay Thomas (Georgetown professor), and Bill Tucker (Tech Transfer at UC). LINK to WRITTEN TESTIMONY.
- FTC Commish on Tom Rosch on IP-Antitrust issues. LINK.
- World IP Day: I missed it, but IPKat has the (funny) discussion. LINK.
- Bidding for Patents.Com is now up to $420,000.
Upcoming Events
- May 6-9, I will be at the annual BIO International Convention — this year being held in Boston. I’ve been given a press pass — Let me know if you would like to get together to talk about the future of American patent law.
phdAgent wrote “Geeh, have a zillion years of higher education and then make a lousy salary of $40 K !!! When all of your friends who went to work at real jobs with their BA are making 2-10 times as much after not killing themselves with a PhD thesis.”
All your friends with BAs made $80 – $400k a year at the age of what – 29? They must have some talents or connections. I believe the median salary in the US is still below $40k a year.
“As you write another application or a response, do you find yourself saying, “I just can’t do this any more?””
Sometimes. And then I think, “Hmm. I wonder if that blog is updated?” And the feeling goes away. 😉
As you write another application or a response, do you find yourself saying, “I just can’t do this any more?” Dealing with one stupid idea after another for obscure items for which your efforts won’t make any difference and do not justify your outrageous hourly rate. Do you feel like you can’t go on with the same grind, day after day with the only change being the different way each inventor is whacked out of his mind? Sitting there, merely creating and then pushing one paper after another, what is the point?
If you want to see some of the world’s most depressing jobs, you should watch Nikolas Geryhalter’s recent documentary OUR DAILY BREAD.
link to calendarlive.com
I wonder if that chick-sorting system is patented …?
That’s crazy. Everybody knows that dentists are way more depressed than any kind of lawyer. Maybe Australia, being a British Commonwealth and former territory, doesn’t have enough dentists to provide a decent sample? Anyway, all I know is my brother quit dentistry after about a year, and I’m still sticking it out on the patent law side…
Patent Attorney second most depressing.
What a laugh !!
Obviously, certain jobs, say … being a P-O-S-T-D-O-C
were not on the list of possible depressing jobs – because being a POSTDOC is like the biggest crap job on the face of the planet.
Geeh, have a zillion years of higher education and then make a lousy salary of $40 K !!! When all of your friends who went to work at real jobs with their BA are making 2-10 times as much after not killing themselves with a PhD thesis.
Oh yeah – no social benefits and no stability. Oh yeah –
stuck on the same lousy project for years.
Now patents on the other hand:
a) pay decently;
b) instead of being stuck on the same lousy project for years, you get to work on a variety of different interesting projects.
c) people actually appreciate your helping them instead of being some ‘back office’ lab rat
As for being a postdoc,
a) its not even like you can idealistically be ‘detached from money’ as a postdoc – you have department politics and grant applications.
b) your chance of getting an Assistant Professor position (which also pays crap for tons of hard work) is like very small;
c) much of the research is boring and overrated.
Yeah, being a postdoc pretty much as sucky as it gets.
If “postdoc” was not an option, this study is pretty lousy.
Maybe this study was funded by the BSA or run by Dudas or something.
Come on in, the water’s fine and pay is too good. The horse farm the job affords me does wonders for the drudgery of the daily work!
I also have to wonder whether there is a difference in depression for those who work for a firm and those who work in a corporation. I suspect it is no more difficult for a patent agent or attorney to work in a corporation than it is for an engineer, biologist, chemist or any other professional worker.
Before anyone is excessively influenced by this tidbit, make note of two things:
(1) This article is about Australia, the country where someone patented the wheel.
(2) Being a patent attorney (or agent!) is personally very rewarding when you get a valuable patent issued for your client. Of course, if the thrill of getting a patent issued for your client is not rewarding, then you are in the wrong business.
Take Mr. T’s advice: Stay in school, don’t do drugs, and by all means, don’t hang out with patent attorneys!
Oh boy am I vacillating…
Yikes! I think I’ll just stay as an examiner.
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