LSC Patent Agent

Essential Responsibilities and Duties:

The LSC scope of work for a successful candidate includes supporting the intellectual property of the Legal Department and the company’s technology development and deployment teams, to ensure smooth, timely, and efficient turnaround of patent documents, research, and other related activities supervised by IP attorneys within the SLB Legal Department.

• Initial duties will most likely pertain to:
  • Reviewing patent applications prior to issuance, verifying the accuracy and completeness of the application, ensuring all relevant prior art has been cited, and reviewing scope and prosecution history to recommend filing and scope of continuation or divisional applications.
  • Preparing patent applications on new inventions, including collaborating with inventors and supervising patent attorneys to identify the scope of the invention and patent filing strategies.
  • Reviewing freedom-to-operate and technology landscape documents; updating the documents with relevant SLB and third-party IP, contracts, and public disclosure information.
  • Preparing responses to preliminary rejections from patent offices worldwide, including with respect to unity of invention rejections, requests to correct application papers, and notices to file missing parts.
  • Prepare and coordinate filing of applications and examination report responses in jurisdictions where licensed to practice patent law.
  • Assisting IP attorneys in reviewing patent applications and reducing excess claim fees in various jurisdictions.
  • Assisting with legal review and qualification of digital applications, particularly with respect to ensuring appropriate data use, data privacy, and data residency, and evaluating freedom to operate in view of third party IP.

• Other duties may include:
  • Performing patent searching and landscaping related to key technologies.
  • Support for ad hoc patent and IP-related investigations and matters as assigned by IP attorneys.
  • Assisting with internal training related to intellectual property policies and practices.
  • Preparation and review of IP-related agreements, including unilateral and bilateral confidentiality agreements, consulting agreements, and master service agreements.
  • Assist in internal investigations concerning alleged breaches of intellectual property rights and confidentiality obligations, including fact-finding, evidence review, and coordination with relevant stakeholders.  
  • Assist in the review of adaptations of internal manuals and technical documentation for external disclosures to safeguard intellectual property and confidential information (as per internal guidance and requirements).
  • Assist in the review and preparation (as per internal guidance and requirements) of IP-related documentation required in customer tenders, including IP compliance statements and manufacturer’s commitments.
• The employee will also:
  • Participate in Legal Department training and development initiatives and complete all assigned trainings.
  • Become familiar with and use Legal Department systems and tools and contribute to the legal knowledge management systems used by the company.
  • Support implementation of workflows, processes, procedures, practices, guidelines, playbooks, and templates.

Experience and Key Competencies:

• Degree in computing, engineering, mathematics, science, or technology, and
  • admitted to practice before at least one patent office; or
  • 2+ years experience as a patent engineer in a law firm or corporate environment.
• Written and spoken language proficiency in English; additional proficiency in at least one of Arabic, French, German, Mandarin, Russian, or Spanish is helpful but not required.
• Competent in Microsoft Office Packages, particularly Word and Excel applications.
• Ability to communicate effectively and  interact  with,  as  well  as  support, management, peers, and internal stake holders.
• Ability to proactively organize a heavy workload and demonstrate excellent analytical and prioritisation abilities.
• Good interpersonal skills and adaptability and a practical approach to problem-solving.
• Cultural sensitivity and ability to work within a team.
• Interest in continuous improvement and customer centricity, and the ability to adapt to new challenges.