Patent Lawyer Salary Overview

Unlike a patent agent, a patent lawyer has taken the bar exam and is licensed to practice law, in addition to representing clients before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The Patent Lawyer Salary by Job chart makes the difference clear: patent lawyer salary is much higher than salary for paralegals or legal assistants specializing in patent law. A patent lawyer works not only to help clients patent their intellectual property, but also to advise them on matters such as infringement and licensing. It may sound more "American Inventor" than "Law & Order," but as intellectual property rights become increasingly complex in the digital age, patent lawyers have their work cut out for them.

Starting Patent Lawyer Salaries

Entering patent law means passing the USPTO registration exam, in addition to the bar, and may mean quite a bit of extra study. It's common for law students considering a career in patent and intellectual property law to be curious about what to expect from starting patent lawyer salaries. Investigating Patent Lawyer Salary by Years Experience will give salary researchers insight into the median patent attorney salary range for those just starting out as well as a patent lawyer salary after 5, 10, even 20 years of practice. Currently, the median patent attorney salary for lawyers with four years of experience or less is around $67,000; compare that to Lawyer Starting Salaries overall, and you will start to get the bigger picture when it comes to patent lawyer salary.

Patent Attorney Salary Data

Intellectual property law is such a diverse field, it's important to consider all the different variables that come into play in a patent lawyer's career; they can have a heavy impact on patent lawyer salary. For example, measuring Patent Lawyer Salary by Employer Type, we can see that a patent lawyer salary when working for state or local government is less than half of a self-employed patent lawyer salary. Since all kinds of different inventions, ideas and concepts can be patented, industry also plays a big part in patent lawyer salaries. Researching Patent Lawyer Salary by Industry shows that software and pharmaceuticals are fields in which a patent attorney salary can really take off. As in other professions, location also plays a large role in determining a patent lawyer salary. The Patent Attorney Salary by City chart shows that San Francisco currently offers a higher patent attorney salary than some other cities. Of course, San Francisco is also renowned for having a high cost of living. Use PayScale's cost of living calculator to research Cost of Living and Patent Lawyer Salary Data for San Francisco and other cities.

Average Patent Lawyer Salary

Patent lawyers worth their salt know that a lot can change by how a statement is worded. For example, did you know that asking about the average patent lawyer salary won't get you the best results? Find out why asking "what is the median patent lawyer salary" is a better question than "what is the average patent lawyer salary" by reading the Ask Dr. Salary post, "Why is Median Better than Mean for a Typical Salary?" To further your patent lawyer salary research, find out how a patent attorney salary compares to a Patent Agent Salary.