Welcome to this series focusing on graduate careers in intellectual property (IP) and at Boult.
If you’re considering a role in IP, this series has been designed to give you a primer on the industry, what you can expect from a role as an attorney and some of the key skills you’ll need to flourish in a career as an IP attorney with Boult.
As an introduction, we have taken a moment to give an overview of our firm and, by extension, the IP industry as a whole.
We are a leading European intellectual property (IP) firm with top-ranked practices supporting clients on their trade mark and patents requirements. Founded in 1894 and with experts located in the UK, Germany and Spain, we provide IP expertise and commercial knowledge, enabling our clients to achieve their business goals.
The role of an IP attorney is to help clients identify business-critical and valuable intellectual property, to secure legal protection for it through a patent, design or a trade mark and to ensure that protection is upheld. Think of an inventor seeking to bring their innovation to market, or a new brand looking to prevent copycat infringement. We support clients throughout the lifecycle of their IP:
A role as an IP attorney blends deep technical understanding of IP law with a passion for scienceSTEM, branding and commercial nuance. You will also need the communication and writing skills necessary to convey the uniqueness of a brand or invention with a third party audience.
A patent is defined by the World Intellectual Patent Office – the WIPO – as “an exclusive right granted by a government for an invention that is new, involves an inventive step, and is capable of industrial application”. It provides the owner legal protection to prevent third parties from making, using, selling and importing a product or process based on that innovation. To be successful, a patent application needs to prove the novelty and practicality of the invention in question to a knowledgeable but not expert audience.
A trade mark is a legally-protected sign that is capable of distinguishing goods and services for a business. These could include words, names, letters, drawings, pictures, shapes, colours, labels and even esoteric mediums such as sounds. A trade mark prevents copycat products and brands from infringing on a brand and/or its products. An unprotected brand would be open to imitation by third parties. That could damage a company’s reputation through the marketing of subpar products or a negative customer experience by competitors in their industry.
Though Boult works extensively across both patents and trade marks, we also support clients on other forms of IP such as designs and copyright. IP affects every facet of business our teams working across industry sectors: aerospace, AI, automotive, biotechnology, chemicals, communications and networks, computing and software, consumer goods, electronics, green energy, food, manufacturing and medical devices ,pharmaceuticals and more.
We work with exciting clients here in the UK but also internationally, supporting major brands and corporations with large-scale IP portfolios, as well as universities and single individual inventors. On the trade marks side of the business, we support clients from an equally broad spectrum, advising on the brand portfolios of dynamic start-ups, household names and major international creatives. The nature of our work does however mean much of our client base must remain under wraps (secrecy is often critical in the early stages of a potential patent, design or trade mark!).
If you’re considering a career in IP, you might well be aware of the technicalities of the industry (and you can read our previous introduction to the industry and Boult here…, but what makes a successful attorney?
Here’s five key skills you’ll need to thrive in a career as an attorney.
Creating a robust and successful patent, design or trade mark application requires methodical attention to detail and a logical approach to problem-solving. You’ll need to be able to demonstrate sound judgement to clients about what can achieve protection and the best route to securing it.
A successful attorney needs to be curious, with a desire to learn and an ability to get to the heart of complex concepts and explain them clearly. Understanding and interpreting IP law to craft applications and ensure lasting protection for clients’ property is at the core of an attorney’s day-to-day work.
An attorney needs to be comfortable in conversing on highly technical matters with inventors, creatives and business stakeholders. You’ll need to be able to “speak their language”, to really get to the core of what makes their IP unique so you can interpret that into an application.
As an attorney much of your role is reliant on comprehending the uniqueness of the clients’ IP and conveying that in your application. It’s a fascinating blend of art and science. You’ll need to be able to clearly and concisely articulate complex concepts to a range of audiences, both in writing and in person.
As an IP attorney you’ll be working closely with inventors, innovators, brand creatives and business stakeholders. Being able to understand their world and motivations is vital in creating successful IP applications. At the same time, working as an IP attorney is a team effort. Working collaboratively is at the heart of what we do here at Boult. Forging strong relationships with your colleagues early in your career is also a hugely useful step on the road to future success.
Being an attorney is a fast-paced and at times a challenging career. You’ll need energy and the enthusiasm not just for your work, but also for your particular scientific or industry specialism. You’ll need the drive to be constantly learning and developing. Keeping up-to-date with changes in your technical field or business acumen is as important as keeping your advisory skills on point, as is keeping across on top of the latest legal developments which could affect your clients.
If you feel you have the skills to succeed in a career in IP, we would like to hear from you. Our vacation scheme is open until April, with applications open for our trainee programme open until November. If you are considering a career in IP, our open days – held virtually in September – are a great way to find out more about being an IP specialist and working for a tier one firm.
We’ll be back in the near future to discuss the Boult training programme – what you can expect as a trainee at Boult and what you need to apply.
Our trainee programme provides a superb first step on your road to becoming a registered patent attorney and European patent attorney, or a registered trade mark attorney.
Training at Boult doesn’t take a one-size-fits-all approach. Trainees are encouraged to learn at their own pace. You are not on a conveyor belt with expectations that you sit and pass exams at the same time as your contemporaries. Instead, we flex the training to match your strengths, meaning you don’t have to sit the qualifying exams in a particular order or at a particular time.
As a trainee you’ll be supporting attorneys and partners on client matters from day one. You will be working alongside partners who have a stellar reputation in the industry, learning from them. At the same time, you’ll be working towards the industry standard accreditation to be a qualified patent or trade mark attorney. There’s no set timeline for this, nor a set progression for which exams you have to sit in which order.
With Boult, you can study at your own pace in a supportive environment. We offer a mixture of styles of learning including internal tutoring, soft skills sessions, a trainee buddy, a mentor and the applicable IP qualification university course. For university study, your course and exam fees, materials and (where necessary) accommodation are covered by the firm and we will provide paid study leave.
As well as having the experience of qualified colleagues to draw on, you’ll also have other trainees around you and we encourage plenty of social activities to help build relationships between your immediate team and the wider firm.
Academically, you will need at least 136 UCAS points from your post-16 qualifications to be considered for a trainee role with Boult. You will either be in the final year of your degree or have graduated and will need to be predicted or have obtained at least a 2:1 degree.
We have already covered this in detail in other articles *link. However, as a quick reference, we look for an interest in IP, a willingness to learn, bags of enthusiasm and excellent written communication skills. Boult takes a contextualised approach to our recruitment. That means looking at CVs “blind” – so reviewing skills beyond just academic background (though this is of course always important) is a priority in our recruitment process.
We are looking for applicants with strong academic backgrounds, but who are able to convey their personality through their application, as well as to demonstrate how their prior background and achievements will help them thrive in an IP career.
Our trainee scheme application process is open until October 2025, with interviews held after that date.
If you are considering a career in IP, we encourage attending a vacation scheme at the firm after or towards the end of your degree. These take place in July, with the application window open until mid-April. We don’t promise roles to vacation scheme attendees, nor is it a pre-requisite for a trainee placement, but it is a fantastic opportunity to see behind the scenes at Boult and to get a hands-on experience with life as an IP attorney.
For a taster of life at Boult, our open days are held virtually every September, with the application window open from May to September. This is a great way to find out more about being an IP specialist and working for a tier one firm.
In our next edition we’ll be lifting the lid on life as a trainee at Boult in patents and trade marks.
A day in the life of a patent trainee: Maryam Ahmed
Welcome back to our series covering what to expect in a graduate career in IP and with Boult. This time, we sat down with current patent trainee Maryam Ahmed to hear firsthand what a day in the life of a patent trainee entails.
“When I get to my desk I open my emails, Zoom, the CRM and Inprotech and check for important tasks to be completed that day. I maintain an Excel sheet with all my upcoming deadlines and project milestones which I’m always updating. It helps
Read more
A day in the life of a trade mark trainee: Saskia Caseman
As part of our ongoing series covering graduate careers in IP at Boult, current trade mark trainee, Saskia Caseman, lifts the lid on a day in the life of a trade mark trainee at Boult.
“I start my day by checking through my emails, I feel better once I have everything ordered and filed and have a lot of email rules and categories to help with this! Once I have everything organised, I check due-date reports for upcoming deadlines across client portfolios and flag any that
Read more
In a role as a trade mark attorney with Boult you will be working on a huge variety of trade marks. Although you might not immediately think of it, not all marks are focused on just a logo and brand name!
Here’s some more esoteric forms of branding which have successfully secured trade marks – which you may well encounter in your trade mark career.
Specific colours can become interlinked with a brand or product’s identity and specific pantones can be protected with a trade mark. For example, Cadbury’s iconic purple wrappers are a registered trade mark, which Cadbury has been in an ongoing battle to protect in recent times.
Designs are their own form of IP, of course, but specific 3D shapes can also be protected by trade marks. Think of the iconic shape of the Lindt Chocolate Bunny, or the classic glass coke bottle (but not its newer, plastic counterparts…). The recent dispute between Marks and Spencer’s Colin the Caterpillar and his arch-nemesis, Aldi’s Cuthbert, also centered on this kind of mark (and has since been settled).
Famous photographs and pictures can also gain IP protection with a trade mark. As an example, images of the Eiffel Tower at night are trade marked – although that is a little tricky to enforce when the tower is photographed thousands of times a year by tourists in the social-media age.
Installations and patterns of light shows are also an increasing source of IP. Think about the intricacies of Dubai’s light shows, or the specific staging of a band or gig. To bring up the Parisian icon again, The Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel – which is responsible for managing the world-famous Paris Landmark – holds protection for the lighting design of the Eiffel Tower.
Not only are photos trade-markable, but the poses in which they depict famous people might also be protectable. For example, Usain Bolt’s victory pose is trade marked, as is Michael Jordan’s famous dunk pose for Nike.
Audible branding is a widespread source of potential trade marks. Ask anyone over the age of 30 what the Nokia start-up tone is and they will have flashbacks to the invincible 3330. That is a trade mark. Likewise, the distinctive sound of Darth Vader’s breathing brings fear to all who hear it in a galaxy far, far away and in our own – and it’s also trade marked.
Another type of audible mark which has a long history of IP enforcement is songwriting and music. Copyright claims in this area are relatively common, but trade marks for famous lyrical sequences are also on the rise. For example, Taylor Swift has registered various lyrics, including those to “This Sick Beat” from her song “Shake it off” under three separate classes. (Incidentally, that’s not the only form of trade marks in Swift’s portfolio: her cats’ names are also subject to trade marks).
Trade marks are also applicable to real-world spaces and, potentially, the layout of a physical area like an office or venue. Perhaps the best example of this comes courtesy of Apple, which has protected their own slice of Californication internationally, through a trade mark on the layout of the stores.
There’s far more to a career in trade marks than just examining branding and logos. Life as a trade mark attorney combines an intricate understanding of branding and business with a deep understanding of trade mark law for a whole host of brands and products.
If you’re considering a role within trade marks, Boult has a top-tier trade mark team. Our application window for trainee roles is open until October. In addition, our vacation scheme can give a behind-the-scenes look at life as a trade mark attorney. The scheme is held in July, with the application window open until mid-April. This is supported by our virtual open days, held in September, with applications open between May and September.
We’ll be back soon with more on our graduate careers series – this time focusing on some of the most intriguing areas for patents in today’s world.
Patents is a fascinating area of law, which touches upon a huge variety of industries and clients. A career as an IP attorney means getting to grips with some of the most exciting technologies, processes and products with the capacity to change our world right from day one. Sometimes, that innovation and the associated patents comes from industries which are renowned for their cutting-edge appeal. Sometimes, just as excitingly, it can be found in areas you might not expect.
Here’s some examples of sources of patents you might interact with in a role as a patent attorney.
As well as the potential impact of AI on cancer screening and “personalised medicine” the field is constantly moving forward with new methods of condition detection and treatment. For example, T-Cell engineering is a rich area of innovation and could be revelatory in treating cancers. Various successful patents have been filed for CAR T-cell therapies which train T-Cells in a patient’s blood to identify and combat cancer cells.
Traditional aerospace patenting is a vast field covering everything associated with flight – from jet propulsion to dinner trays. But it is also moving into new areas, with drone-tech a reliable source of patents in recent times. This has gone as far as pursuing patents for full-scale drone airports and infrastructure which can be located in city centres and handle delivery and logistics on a large scale.
But what about human flight? Civilian jet packs sound like a fantasy but they are on the horizon. Gravity Industries – a client of Boult – has developed a jet-suit which has successfully executed over 105 live flight events to date. Gravity has trained over 50 clients to fly in the US and UK and are looking to establish an International Race Series in the near future.
Our application window for trainee roles is open until October. In addition, our vacation scheme can give a behind the scenes look at life as a patent attorney. The scheme is held in July, with the application window open until mid-April. For a glimpse into life as an attorney at Boult, consider our virtual open days – held in September 2025.
Thank you for reading this series. If the opportunity to work with cutting-edge technology and innovation is something which appeals to you and you have a scientific background to match, the Boult patent team would like to hear from you.
