Felix Mueller worked within the DEPFET collaboration for the Belle II Pixel Vertex Detector (PXD) between 2011 and 2019. He left science by the end of 2019 and he started as a patent examiner in the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA), which is the center of expertise in the field of intellectual property (IP) protection in Germany and the largest national IP office in Europe.
The DPMA is the federal authority responsible for the protection of innovations in Germany. Its key duties include the examination of innovations, granting patents, registration of trade marks, utility models and designs, administration of IP rights and providing IP information to the public.
The work, tasks and daily life of a patent examiner within the federal authority will be reported with some examples of patent(s) (applications) from the domain of particle physics.
Furthermore, the DPMA as employer with a better work-life balance and a family-friendly working environment will be introduced and the career (prospects as patent examiner) will be highlighted.