Question: What does your field of work entail?

Kelly Houton answered on 7 Mar 2016:

Research teams present me with their new inventions and products for sale.

I then perform literature searches, which can include anything from patents, product guides, data sheets, academic papers, journals, blogs, PhD thesis… to see whether anyone has made this thing before.

If it has been made before, and has intellectual protection (i.e. a patent), we will ‘loan’ the invention from the person who invented it.

If it has not been made before, we will seek to ‘own’ the invention- which limits the ability of other people to copy our invention.