How to become an intellectual property examiner

Official title: Intellectual property examiner

Also called: Patent examiner, Trade mark examiner

Intellectual property examiner assesses and determines the granting of patents and trade marks. He/she reviews patent applications and examines inventions from a technical standpoint and ensures that the invention is novel. He/she reviews and processes trade mark applications under the Trade Marks Act and Madrid Protocol.

Main tasks

• Assessing and determining the granting of patents and trade marks
• Reviewing patent applications and examining inventions from a technical standpoint
• Reviewing and processing trade mark applications

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

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

Related jobs

• Intellectual property agent
• Policy administration professional
• Management consultant
• Business consultant
• Business/Financial project management professional
• Sustainability project development/management professional

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Questions people ask

Will AI change the work of an intellectual property examiner?

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

Sources

• International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Updated 4 October 2026