Trade Mark Para legal - Home Care

Are you interested in brands, passionate about IP, a people person, a problem solver and looking for a new challenge? If so, then look no further We are recruiting for a Trade Mark Paralegal to join our Home Care Business Group which comprises Laundry, Home & Hygiene and Air & Water brands. This role will report to the Senior IP Counsel. 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, 2 billion consumers worldwide use them. We own some of the best known and best loved brands, from long-established names like Dove, Persil, Lipton and Ben & Jerry’s to new innovations such as Blueair, our innovative in-home air purifier. The role of the Legal Group is to protect Unilever and help it to win by providing objective advice and creative legal solutions.

JOB PURPOSRE

IP is a centralized function at Unilever under the leadership of the Chief Intellectual Property Officer. The trade marks team is based in London and Rotterdam and has global responsibility for all trade mark work. Brands and Trade Marks are a key enabler to product launches and marketing campaigns. As a brand led company, the number of innovations is fast and exciting The Trade Mark team provides specialized legal intellectual property advice, risk management support and creative legal solutions to the global business, with a focus on trade mark and copyright law, including searching, clearance, filing, renewals, oppositions, infringement, look-a-like products, unfair competition and passing-off, licensing, assignments, mergers and acquisitions as well as domain name registrations, recoveries and acquisitions.

This role would be based in Unilever’s London office at Blackfriars and would provide support to two trade mark counsels within the Home Care business group (including areas like Laundry, Home & Hygiene and Air & Water). Unilever has introduced a hybrid working model, with staff required to be in the office for a minimum 2 days each week.

A commitment to performing essential trade mark and operational administration work is key given the nature of trade mark portfolio management. The role would include at times working cooperatively with other legal divisional members.

RESPONSIBILITIES

All aspects of trade mark clearances, prosecution, oppositions, and maintenance (under varying levels of supervision) including:

- Prepare documents for counsels to review, including prosecution matters and notices of opposition.
- Conduct scan/’knockout’ searches using the technology tools available and provide initial view of red flags.
- Prepare TM search instructions to our outsourced TM partner and monitor and collate replies. Provide trade mark counsels with a top line summary report on the availability and registrability of trade marks.
- Monitor TM watch notices, handling initial research of the impact of third party marks for review by counsels.
- Preparation and gathering of TM oppositions related evidence.
- Liaise with local legal teams and external legal partners to collate and research evidence of use of TMs for countries requiring such evidence for renewals, including co-ordination of the USA verification of use requirements.
- Assist with permission requests from third parties to use Unilever’s intellectual property and prepare permission letters for review by counsels.
- Create and set up database entries for new contentious TM issues, produce reports and trackers.
- Assist with TM audit/gap filling and strategy analyses for the businesses
- Other general support tasks for the team.

ALL ABOUT YOU
- Proven experience in trade mark administration matters.
- Interest in developing and/or experience in-house in FMCG.
- Ability to communicate clearly verbally and in writing.
- Proven ability to prioritise and work with different people located in different geographic locations/time zones.
- Adaptable, proactive, keen to learn and take on an increasingly varied and challenging workload as skills develop.
- Good logic and analytical skills, and attention to detail
- Self-motivation to achieve excellence in administrative type matters as well as other matters.
- Pragmatic, commercial and keen to learn and immerse yourself into the business of Unilever.
- Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and common TM search platforms
- A passion for intellectual property