RUBY VALLEY, Nev. — When northern Nevada rancher Adam Neff needed to repair an electric cattle prod, he looked up its patent to see how it was supposed to work.

Neff, 54, who raises cattle with his father and brother in Ruby Valley where he grew up, is also a patent agent who is fluent in Japanese.

“I don’t know of anyone else like me who has this particular combination of jobs — working as a rancher and a patent agent,” Neff said with a laugh.

“I’m grateful to have the best of both worlds — helping my family on the ranch and working remotely on patents. Patent law is complex and fascinating. We don’t really stop to think about how vital patented products and processes are and how they touch our lives — GPS systems in tractors or drones, medical devices and surgical instruments, or automotive and aerospace engine manufacturing.”

Juggling his jobs, Neff generally does whatever is needed on the ranch during the day and devotes early mornings and evenings to patent work. He checks messages throughout the day to ensure that any urgent patent matters on his docket are taken care of. Sometimes his tractor cab becomes his informal office when he takes a Zoom call.

After graduating in 1995 from Brigham Young University with degrees in civil and environmental engineering and Japanese, he was hired at a law firm, Oliff PLC in Alexandria, Va. Besides being a patent agent, he supervises the firm’s in-house Japanese translation department.

Neff moved back to the valley temporarily during the summer of 2006 when his father had surgery and needed help. His family liked it so much that they moved back permanently the following year.

Diverse expertise

At the law firm, Neff has acquired expertise in various technical fields including the automotive, aerospace and metal fabricating industries. His work, however, has not been limited to those areas.

“I’ve helped clients with all kinds of products and processes — a pre-tied zipper necktie with a unique knot, a large hay bale stacking machine and components of a color copier,” he said. “You don’t realize it, but when you’re making a color copy, there are patented components functioning with complex color calibration algorithms to ensure the correct color is produced.”

Neff unknowingly launched his unusual career path when he began serving a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Japan.

“The culture impressed me,” he said. “The Japanese are diligent, intelligent, polite, hard-working and have a sense of societal obligation and responsibility. The crime rate is low.”

When his mission ended, Adam pursued a double major at BYU. One of his Japanese professors had a translation business on the side and hired him to work on projects.

“One of the clients happened to be the law firm I’m working for now. They wanted to meet the translators in person and hired me after college.”

He began learning how patent attorneys and patent agents help clients apply for a patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Examiners at the federal office decide whether to grant a patent. Utility patents can be granted for products or methods, while design patents can be granted for the ornamental appearance of objects.

The patent puzzle

Neff said helping a client obtain a patent is like solving a puzzle.

“Writing the application is challenging and enjoyable,” he said. “There’s a proper format, description, verbiage and drawings to use. How do you describe the unique feature of a product or process in an understandable way and show how it’s different from what was known previously? What was already known and what is an improvement worthy of a patent?”

After the application is submitted, “nine out of 10 times the examiner will reject it, saying it isn’t unique,” he said. “Then the negotiation starts. Is the examiner’s analysis correct? If so, how should the claims be amended to overcome the rejection?”

Obtaining a patent can be a costly process, often up to $20,000 or even more from start to finish.

“Most people have sticker shock,” Neff said. “They also tend to think a patent automatically leads to money. I advise clients who want to earn an income from their patent to have a marketing plan. A patent simply acts as a tool to help stop anyone else from making, using or selling a product or process.”

At times, his patent work requires him to travel to Virginia or to Japan.

“It’s always good to come back home to Ruby Valley,” he said. “It’s been a great place to raise our kids.”

Adam Neff

Age: 54.

Occupation: Patent agent, rancher, Japanese translator.

Education: Degrees in civil and environmental engineering and Japanese from Brigham Young University in 1995.

Hometown: Ruby Valley, Nev.

Family: Wife, Lisi, seven children.