Job Title: Trade Mark Counsel
Location: 100VE
Company Overview:
Unilever is one of the world’s leading fast-moving consumer goods companies. Our products are sold in over 190 countries, and, on any given day, 3.4 billion consumers worldwide use them. We own some of the best-known and best-loved brands, including Axe, Cif, Comfort, Dermalogica, Dove, Hellmann’s, Horlicks, Lifebuoy, Knorr, Paula’s Choice, Persil, TRESemmé and Vaseline.
In order to unlock our full potential and accelerate business performance, Unilever has set out a Growth Action Plan. It outlines the steps we are taking to deliver faster growth, drive productivity and simplicity, and dial up our performance culture. Our 30 Power Brands are front and centre of our Growth Action Plan, as is unmissable brand superiority across the 6Ps, as well as science and technology.
Our focus in Legal is on high impact strategic business partnering, leveraging and strengthening our legal expertise whilst continuing to expand the powerhouses and focus on digital transformation.
Unilever's legal team has recently been awarded Most Innovative In-House Legal Team in Europe and In-House Legal Team. We are at the forefront of innovation and digitalization with GenAI tools, data and Powerhouses shaping the future of how we work.
JOB PURPOSE
The role of the Legal Group is to protect Unilever and help it to win by providing objective advice and creative legal solutions. Unilever’s Legal Function is structured with corporate expertise Leads and General Counsels who head up each of our five Business Groups.
The Trade Mark Counsel provides comprehensive IP advice, risk management support and creative legal solutions to the business, with a focus on all aspects of global trade mark portfolio management and enforcement, M&A, copyright, music, contract drafting and negotiation, domain name registrations, recoveries and acquisitions, as well as global litigation and negotiation. The candidate is expected to understand the principles around design rights and other ancillary IP rights, such as patents, know-how and trade secrets and to support on licensing, sponsorship and other marketing-related agreements insofar as brand IP rights are concerned.
You will be responsible for setting global IP strategies for some of our core Power Brands and you will be the regional European business partner for other global brands in Europe. You will work closely with regional IP colleagues in China, US, India and Barcelona. You will also work with other lawyers and functional experts on other areas such as licensing, litigation, competition law, privacy, data and digital and with our marketing lawyers.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Core Responsibilities:
Working closely with the Head of Trade Marks/Brand Protection, you will be responsible for the following areas:
Key Responsibilities:
* Clearance: develop strategies and conduct and advise on all aspects of TM clearance using a combination of industry search tools and external legal support on a global basis.
* Protection and maintenance: build strategies for what TMs to protect and where, considering ownership structures to deliver optimal protection; dealing with all aspects of prosecution and evidence requirements.
* Watching: analyze results and ensure Unilever assets are appropriately monitored and protected.
* Oppositions, cancellations and invalidity actions, as well as pre-action correspondence and enforcement actions (civil/criminal) as well as customs, and online and offline monitoring.
* Managing the trade mark portfolios for which you are responsible within budget.
* Oversee the preparation of necessary official and evidentiary documents.
* Work closely with the legal team on other IP areas such as licensing, copyright issues, designs, patents, usage rights as needed.
* Pro-active involvement in team meetings including regular presentations and education of team members on relevant issues.
* Educate the business on IP issues and policy.
* Support Licensing and M&A teams on IP advice.
* Work closely with Patent Attorneys and Design Counsels, and the wider legal team on all areas of product launch.
* Spot wider legal issues e.g. competition risk, design rights, marketing and advertising law.
ALL ABOUT YOU
Person Specification
* Qualified TM Attorney (5+ years PQE).
* Proven track record in international TM portfolio management, preferably within an FMCG.
* Self-starter, curious with strong attention to detail.
* Ability to provide advice in plain non-legal jargon.
* Strong organisational and prioritisation skills to cope with multiple stakeholders, competing deadlines and priorities, often at very short notice.
* Experience of using and interrogating data from TM database systems and searching tools is essential (Corsearch, TM Now).
* Creativity in problem solving.
* Team player.
* Self-confident integrity – ability to objectively judge risk and when to counsel or influence business.
* Excellent project management skills and strong understanding of stakeholder management.
* Experience of working in-house within a global matrix organisation preferable.
* Passion for tech an advantage.
* Experience in managing budgets.
Business Skills
* Champion IP within the business and pro-actively communicating the value of IP and advocating for changes in business behaviour where needed.
* Collaborating with other team members to leverage and drive best practice.
* Business partnering and stakeholder management are key requirements of this role.
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