Intellectual Property Counsel

Spectrum Brands' global enabling functions, including Finance, Legal, IT, Human Resources, Supply Chain, and Commercial Operations, provide enterprise-wide strategy, structure, and common processes to deliver the knowledge and expertise that helps our businesses grow. Enabling functions may operate as a center-led global team, providing a central strategy, structure, and standards; or as business partner teams, with resources embedded within the businesses to deliver business unit-specific results.

Responsible for working with the business teams to develop a strategy to manage, maintain and enforce Spectrum Brands' Intellectual Property rights. The job primarily involves acting as lead patent counsel to work with outside counsel or internal resources on patent related matters and overseeing and providing direction over the execution of the team's trademark and brand protection functions. The role will not include litigating intellectual property infringement claims but will require assistance to the Company's litigation function on such matters.

• Strategic Planning and Advising: Work with the business teams to develop and manage strategic plan for patent and trademark portfolios to align with the Company's corporate short- and long-term business plans.
• Lead Patent Counsel: Act as the Company's lead Patent Counsel on all patent-related matters, including, as examples, drafting and filing patents, conducting patentability assessments of Invention Disclosures, providing direction to research groups related to new developments, supporting the New Product Design teams related to new developments and inventions, and conducting patentability, freedom to market, invalidity, and due diligence searches and assessments.
• International Patent and Trademark Portfolio Management: Oversee the Company's global patent and trademark clearances process to avoid IP disputes, including advance infringement reviews and competition IP portfolio analysis, preparing and providing clearance opinions. Oversee the Company's brand protection efforts, including team members who coordinate with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and other similar agencies, on IP-related issues (e.g., recording trademark registrations, communicating with customs officers, and coordinating with foreign counsel on equivalent filings with foreign customs agents).

• Transaction-Related Expertise: Prepare and negotiate intellectual property related transactional and licensing agreements (e.g., trademark, copyright, and co-existence agreements), supporting other transactional agreements (e.g., supply chain and sales agreements) from the intellectual property perspective, and conducting merger and acquisition intellectual property due diligence and new acquisition integration.

• Management of In-house and Outside Counsel: Manage an international team of outside and in-house counsel in the preparation and prosecution of patent applications and trademark filings, including filings to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and other similar government agencies.
• Policy Development and Training: Provide proactive coordination and implementation of corporate-wide and business-wide IP initiatives, policies, and procedures. Provide IP training to the business, including subjects on patents, copyrights, trade secrets and related matters.

• Budgetary Management: Build dynamic intellectual property budgets in collaboration with business partners.

• Team and Process Leader: Lead a team of four personnel.

• J.D. from an ABA-approved and accredited law school with excellent academic credentials preferred.

• Licensed to practice and in good standing in one or more states, including ability to practice law in Wisconsin.
• At least seven (7) years of experience with a preference for a combination of both experience at a major law firm and in-house experience at a company with multinational operations

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Suite
• Advanced proficiency in Mosaic

• Must be both a leader and individual contributor, with sound legal and business judgment, professional maturity, and a willingness to learn and received constructive feedback.
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills with the ability to interact effectively with executives and all levels within the organization - including engineering, product development, and marketing/sales departments
• Ability to manage and delegate as necessary multiple high-priority matters and projects at once, on time, and in a cost-efficient manner.

• Ability to work independently, set priorities, meet deadlines, and resolve complex problems with a thorough understanding of business and legal environments.

• Willingness to be flexible, adaptive, and able to operate in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated ability to negotiate and implement legal strategies to meet business goals.
• The highest standards of ethics and professional integrity.

Work from the office in Middleton, WI (currently 3 days in office) preferred but willing to consider a completely remote employee.

The above information on this description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this job/classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job.

Spectrum Brands is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer.

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