Intellectual Property Counsel

Wahl Clipper Corporation, a global manufacturer of branded Consumer and Professional products, has an exciting opportunity for a creative, solutions-oriented individual to fill the role of Intellectual Property (IP) Counsel at our headquarters in Sterling, Illinois. Learn more about the Wahl difference here. 

The Intellectual Property (IP) Counsel provides advice on patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret issues for a global organization. The IP Counsel is a strategic partner who develops and implements strategies and best practices in alignment with the overall company vision to protect and facilitate innovation and new product development.  Additionally, this role participates in an international IP enforcement team that keeps up to date on competitors' activities and guards against infringement of the Company's rights.  IP Counsel embraces and promotes "The Wahl Way"' our values, culture, and guiding principles of cultural enablement, continuous improvement, enterprise alignment, and result-driven thinking.  IP Counsel has strong cross-cultural communication skills, sound business judgment, the ability to reduce inefficiency and increase productivity through process improvement, and a passion for protecting our intellectual property.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Develops and actively manages the Company's international patent and trademark portfolios
• Creates and implements appropriate global patent strategies to protect Company innovations in collaboration with engineering and management
• Ability to assess and prioritize the largest end to end risk and drive for improvement.
• Oversees the patent prosecution process through effective coordination with an internal patent coordinator and outside counsel
• Conducts patent and art searches to advise engineering on third party intellectual property and industry trends
• Effectively manages active patent, trademark and copyright dockets consisting of multiple projects in various phases of prosecution
• Participates in an online marketplace enforcement strategy in collaboration with the international IP enforcement team to identify, document, and track counterfeit and knock-off product listings
• Advises and assists engineers with patent drafting, applications, and follow up for new products
• Coordinates with and participates in the international anti-infringement program
• Assists with trademark, copyright, and domain name matters
• Supervises collaboration with outside patent and trademark counsel
• Reports all litigation matters to the In House Counsel
• Performs all other duties as assigned by Supervisor

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school
• B.S. in Electrical or Mechanical Engineering
• Registered to practice law in at least one state and before the USPTO
• Minimum of three years of Intellectual Property/Patent experience
• Consumer goods industry experience preferred
• Must have initiative and ability to work independently, exercising good judgment
• Creative and solutions oriented
• Ability to take complex information and present it in a simple, visual format.
• Strong relationship skills with proven ability to effectively educate and influence without direct authority
• Acts with humility and with a respect for all individuals
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage several projects
• Strong negotiation skills
• Familiarity with online IP resources such as PAIR, TSDR, TESS, OHIM, WIPO, Foreign Patent Offices
• Ability to travel 10%

Current Openings for Intellectual Property Counsel Jobs at Wahl Clipper Corporation