• Patent Attorneys are Patent Agents that have passed a State or Federal bar exam as well as the Patent Bar Exam. Patent Attorneys can file lawsuits.
• Patent Agents are usually career engineers and scientists who have passed the patent bar exam.
Either can represent the inventor equally at the USPTO, which makes no distinction between a Patent Agent and a Patent Attorney insofar as the work of preparing an application for a patent and conducting the prosecution in the Patent and Trademark Office.
Patent Agents cannot conduct patent litigation in the courts or perform various services, which the local jurisdiction considers as practicing law. For example, a Patent Agent could not draw up a contract relating to a patent, such as an assignment or a license, if the state in which he/she resides considers drafting contracts as practicing law.