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Patent attorneys and judicial scriveners

How to become a Patent Attorney

Uses specialist knowledge of intellectual property to handle all of a company's industrial property rights work, starting with procedures at the Japan Patent Office.

Main tasks

Workers in this job say university or a master's degree is common. From job tag's survey of people in each job, who could give several answers. It shows what workers see as common, not how many workers hold each level.

How to become one

You must pass the national patent attorney (benrishi) exam and register with the Japan Patent Attorneys Association. Anyone can sit the exam regardless of education, but almost all working patent attorneys are university graduates, most from science and engineering. Besides passing the exam, people who have worked for a total of at least seven years as an appeal examiner or examiner at the Japan Patent Office, and people recognised as lawyers under the Attorney Act, are also eligible. Those who meet these conditions can register as a patent attorney only after completing the practical training required by the Patent Attorney Act, run by the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry or a body the minister designates. Many people work at a patent firm or a company's intellectual property department for several years to gain experience before setting up on their own. Through your work you are expected to become expert in legal and other issues centred on intellectual property rights. Those who specialise in a particular field of technology, such as electrical, mechanical or chemical, need knowledge of the latest technology in that field. Competition and disputes over intellectual property are also growing internationally, with many applications going abroad and coming to Japan from abroad, and you may work with patent attorneys in other countries, so English and other foreign languages are needed.

Ways in

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Patent Attorney?

You must pass the national patent attorney (benrishi) exam and register with the Japan Patent Attorneys Association. Anyone can sit the exam regardless of education, but almost all working patent attorneys are university graduates, most from science and engineering. Besides passing the exam, people who have worked for a total of at least seven years as an appeal examiner or examiner at the Japan Patent Office, and people recognised as lawyers under the Attorney Act, are also eligible. Those who meet these conditions can register as a patent attorney only after completing the practical training required by the Patent Attorney Act, run by the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry or a body the minister designates. Many people work at a patent firm or a company's intellectual property department for several years to gain experience before setting up on their own. Through your work you are expected to become expert in legal and other issues centred on intellectual property rights. Those who specialise in a particular field of technology, such as electrical, mechanical or chemical, need knowledge of the latest technology in that field. Competition and disputes over intellectual property are also growing internationally, with many applications going abroad and coming to Japan from abroad, and you may work with patent attorneys in other countries, so English and other foreign languages are needed.

How much does a Patent Attorney earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥9,811,100 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Legal workers, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become a Patent Attorney?

Usually. In this job's census occupation group, 83% of workers are university graduates.

Will AI change the work of a Patent Attorney?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx）ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx）ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.

Updated 4 October 2026