Trade Mark Legal Associate – Unilever Intellectual Property

Job Description:

Responsibilities

• Conduct trade mark clearance searches, analyse search results to determine the availability of proposed trade marks and prepare advice for the BG Trade Mark Counsel(s). Where required, instruct our external law firm(s) to undertake further searches and provide legal advice.
• Prepare instructions to our external law firm(s) for the filling and prosecution of trade mark filling projects, as well as collating supporting documentation and preparing cost estimates where re4quired.
• Collate evidence of Unilever’s use of our trade marks to support our annual trade mark renewal cycle and the preparations of Statements of Use, as well as for trade mark prosecution, opposition and cancellation matters.
• Conduct trade mark watch services to identify infringing third party trade mark applications and provide recommendations to the BG Trade Mark Counsel(s).
• Support with trade mark enforcement, infringement and opposition matters, including the conducting of OSIN investigations, drafting pre-action correspondence and settlement agreements.
• Support with anti-counterfeiting and grey market enforcement, including the drafting of witness statements, preparing evidence and updating case management software.
• Support with the drafting and execution of IP related agreements, including copyright assignments.
• Manage requests from our legal colleagues and business partners for the preparation of authorisation letters, trade mark portfolio reports, obtaining copies of trade mark certificates and other ad-hoc trade mark requests.
• Support with the integration and/or divestiture of IP assets resulting from M&A activity, including trade mark assignment recordals.
• Support with the management of our Domain Name portfolio, including the regular auditing of our portfolio to identify opportunities to lapse.
• Manage the Trade Mark precedent bank, updating with new templates, playbooks and other know-how materials.
• Prepare PowerPoint presentations and other materials to engage our business partners, provide insights and educate them on Unilever Intellectual Property.

Qualification & Experience

• Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) with preferably a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Intellectual Property
• 2-4 years of experience in international trade mark portfolio management, including trade mark clearance searches, prosecution matters, trade mark renewals and enforcement matters.