Description:
Responsibilities:- Manage and support the Company's global patent portfolio, including preparation, filing, prosecution, and maintenance across multiple jurisdictions.
- Review, assess, and manage invention disclosures from North America–based business groups, including evaluations of novelty, patentability, and strategic importance.
- Develop and implement patent preparation, filing, and prosecution strategies in coordination with the global IP team and outside counsel.
- Conduct and/or supervise novelty, freedom-to-operate (FTO) and patent landscape searches and analyses to provide risk assessments in support of product development and commercialization.
- Manage and support the Company's global trademark portfolio, including clearance, registration, prosecution, and maintenance.
- Coordinate global trademark filing and prosecution efforts through outside counsel and foreign associates.
- Advise marketing, branding, and business teams on trademark selection, usage, and risk mitigation.
- Select, manage, and oversee outside IP counsel and foreign associates worldwide for patent and trademark matters.
- Coordinate closely with the Director of Intellectual Property (Global) on outside counsel strategy, workload allocation, and performance.
- Develop, manage, and monitor IP budgets and forecast costs, ensuring efficient and cost-effective use of external resources.
- Serve as the primary IP legal contact for North America–based business, R&D, and innovation teams.
- Act as a trusted advisor to engineering, product, marketing, operations, and leadership on intellectual property matters.
- Ensure that regional business needs are aligned with the Company's global intellectual property strategy.
- Develop and conduct training programs for Company's North America teams on patents, trademarks, invention disclosure processes, clearance procedures, and intellectual property best practices.
- Promote IP awareness, compliance, and consistent processes across business groups and regions.
Qualifications:
- Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited law school.
- Active registration to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
- Active license to practice law in at least one U.S. state.
- Minimum of five (5) or more years of experience practicing intellectual property law.
- Demonstrated experience with patent preparation, filing, and prosecution, and trademark clearance and registration.
- Prior in-house intellectual property counsel experience is preferred.
- Experience managing outside intellectual property counsel is preferred.
