Salary for an entry level Patent Associate in HK

[kylechanb]

I've applied for an entry level patent associate position in HK and I would like to know what is the expected salary of such position.
I am a M.S. holder and currently working as a contract researcher at a US government agency for about 2 years. I don't have any experience regarding patenting at all. I born in Hong Kong and do not have US citizenship.

Anyone can give me a rough idea regarding the starting salary? Thanks in advance.

[Loz_2]

Have you applied for a position in a law firm or as an in-house IP dept?
If you have no prior patent experience you may be lucky to get 16-20k starting as a trainee pat agent.
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[kylechanb]

Thanks for your reply. It is an IP company not a law firm. Now I have an idea.

Also, the offer letter mentions that I have to work there for 3 years and if I terminate the employment within the first 3 years I have to pay them 1 month salary. I wonder if that is standard in Hong Kong? I've never worked in HK and I never hear such thing in the state.

[Loz_2]

When you say IP company what sort of activities are you actually expected to perform? There are specialist IP practices in HK which deal in registration, maintenance of IP rights and other organisations which focus more on the commercialisation of IP not so much the law.
I am not familiar with whether the terms of employment you have described are reasonable under HK law.
If youve been offered a trainee pat agent role its a long term committment. You aren't even off the training wheels until way beyond 3 years .
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[kylechanb]

Thanks again for the info.

The activities include: handle patent cases in the area of biotechnology, translation and filing patent and trademark application. During the interview, the manager mentioned that I am expected to take the China/ Australia/ UK patent law exam in the foreseeable future.

I am considering this as a long term or even a life time career, therefore, I planning to work there for at lease 3+ years. However, if possible, I would like to be more flexible if things don't work out as expected.

[DarrenChan]

3+ years? 3 years in one job (esp if you're young) is a long time in HK.

But the question about the 1 month pay...I doubt they would have this clause for a local hire. People would only be required to pay the 1 month salary if they resign and leave without notice.

[Loz_2]

If they are paying for your o/s patent attorney qualifications the 1 mth salary penalty you will have to repay upon early termination by you is a good deal on balance.
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[kylechanb]

During the interview the manager says it depends on my performance, they may reimburse part or all of the tuition. Therefore, full reimbursement is not guarantee. I guess I will make a counter offer of higher salary and shorten the penalty period to 18 months instead of 3 years.
I wonder if there is any salary table in HK that I can refer to?

[Geoff]

I really doubt that being required to pay a severance to your employer is legal. I know it is common for the company to have a "reclaim" option if they pay moving expenses and you resign within a set period - 12 or 24 months.

However, a straight out financial penalty for resigning sounds illegal to me.

[Loz_2]

By the way, do you have a wife/gf or kids? If you do, I suspect a starting salary commensurate with your level may not be adequate alone.
The industry is small in HK. There is no real salary scale like there is for lawyers so you will not find recruiters really that helpful or knowledgable in this regard.
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