Job Description :

Job Title: Counsel, IP + Innovation, APAC

About us: With over 200 brands sold in nearly 180 countries, we’re the world’s leading premium drinks company. Bring your passion and use your curiosity as you explore, collaborate, and innovate to build brands consumers love. Together with passionate people from all over the world, you’ll test new ideas, learn and grow, and unlock a brighter, more exciting future.

About the Function: We’re legal experts, understanding the complex laws that surround our business and our much-loved brands. Our Legal team are responsible for a range of legal challenges, from Corporate and Intellectual Property to Merger & Acquisitions and Compliance.We’re always seeking new and creative ways to take on the evolving challenges that today’s commercial world presents. Our talented colleagues around the world are not just outstanding lawyers but also brilliant communicators and advisors. Whatever your skill as a lawyer, your distinct and valuable perspective will be celebrated and nurtured in our inclusive culture.

About the team: TE

About the role: As part of the Global IP Team, has responsibility for the clearance, protection and registration, enhancement and renewal of Diageo’s IP portfolio of trade marks, designs and copyright across a range of markets and/or brand teams.  Role reports into Lead IP + Innovation Counsel, Asia.

Role Responsibilities: IP work across all of Diageo’s brands and support to the Diageo internal IP counsel, across various time zones.In addition, generally assisting the Global IP Team and the Commercial Legal Department to meet long and short-term business objectives, including helping members of the IP team in other markets and across other brands as and when workloads require. Assisting the Brand Protection team with Customs recordals.

Financial:

There is no formal budget responsibility, but a general requirement to provide support in a commercial and cost-effective manner as well as assisting with the collation of budget information and helping the IP Counsel manage the IP budget.

Market Complexity:

Covers the IP clearance, registration, management, enforcement and renewal in a range of markets with widely varying degrees of sophistication and complexity in terms of protection offered and enforcement permitted.

This role will also involve reviewing advertising and marketing materials, from a global view point, to advise Global Brand Teams on allowable marketing/activations, as well as spot clearance related issues.

This role will also help protect Diageo’s brands from trade mark squatters so creative thinking and resilience is required to protect the equity of our brands.

This role will also provide IP support to the Brand Protection team including helping to put in place recordals of our brands with Customs authorities to support the fight against counterfeits.

The relevant markets will also typically involve IP registries where bureaucracy, significant delays in process and unpredictable changes in practice are common and require skill and tenacity in order to successfully navigate them. The large number of countries and extensive IP enforcement challenges, and thus extensive IP portfolio and number of external agents, requires the Junior IP Counsel to be highly organised and efficient.

Leadership Responsibilities:

High levels of independent work and self-motivation.

Must be capable of managing a heavy workload and be able to prioritise and respond within deadlines.

Establish and maintain great relationships with the marketing and innovation teams to ensure that there is the opportunity to input at the right stage on matters which require sound IP judgement and experience.

Build and maintain strong relationships with key specialist IP law firms globally, to ensure they understand business needs and provide fit for purpose advice at the right level of cost.

Ability to stand in the future, anticipate and help contribute to the strategy of the Global IP team.

Must be able to work with internal and external legal counsel in other time zones and with different language and cultural backgrounds.

Purpose of Role:

Work within a team consisting of various IP lawyers and paralegals, reporting in to the Lead IP + Innovation Counsel, Asia.   Having responsibility for a significant portfolio to deliver high-quality, commercially orientated Intellectual Property legal services to Diageo marketing and innovation functions, including responsibility for counselling and effective administration of the relevant trade mark portfolios. 

Key outputs may vary over time, however, these typically include:

Participate effectively as member of a team delivering all aspects of world-class IP legal services.

Assist in all aspects of trade mark clearance, prosecution, registration, conflicts and renewals for example: - Conduct preliminary clearance searches; analyse results and prepare draft reports  to the business;

 - Instruct clearance searches in the relevant territory and analyse results and prepare draft reports to the business;

 - File trade mark applications and prosecute through to registration (e.g. deal with examination reports and supporting documentation) via our dedicated agent;

 - Review draft opposition/revocation/cancellation notices for trade mark proceedings, collect and      collate evidence to support all opposition proceedings and prepare draft supporting observations;   -  Manage all relevant data input, liaising with external agents and counsel;

Review and approve advertising and marketing materials.

Assist the various IP Counsel with litigation involving Diageo’s IP rights.

Accountabilities:

Enabling achievement of Performance Ambition

Provision of pro-active and fit for purpose legal management and support in relation to the protection, enforcement and exploitation of our IP assets in a range of markets and/across various global brand teams, including our Scotch brands.

Drive out costs to invest in growth

Deliver all the above in the most cost-effective way and in accordance with the Diageo’s IP new-mindsets and protocols o provide legal support to Diageo in relation to management of the IP portfolio, and identify opportunities to reduce end-to-end legal costs by optimizing use of internal and external legal resources.

Reputation Management

Be an ambassador for driving achievement of our Performance Ambition outcome of exemplary conduct.

Experience / skills required:

Qualified lawyer, from a reputable law school, with IP(Intellectual Property) experience operating at a minimum of 3-5 years PQE level is a must.

Law firm or in-house experience with large or complicated multi-jurisdiction trade mark portfolios

Experience with contested IP proceedings desirable.

Comprehensive knowledge of trade mark law.

Working knowledge of copyright, patent and trade secret protection and other related areas desirable.

Developed computer skills, including on-line trade mark clearance searching, trade mark maintenance database software (Anaqua preferred), word processing, and Excel.  

Willingness to have a flex time work schedule, to accommodate time zone differences with different markets.

Key Functional capabilities:

Specialist IP experience

Proven capability of dealing with trade mark issues, challenges, and an eye for detail.

Professional and Interpersonal Skills

Excellent analytical, good commercial and pragmatic approach - applies knowledge of the law and understanding of the business, with proven ability to generate respect from both the business and colleagues for judgement, approach and commitment.

Excellent interpersonal/communication skills; experience of effective engagement with business partners, always creating a good impression and being approachable; viewed as a reference point.

Management Capabilities

Excellent professionalism, commitment and integrity.

Confident in and sensitive to different cultures and a passion for Diageo’s success.

Consistently Delivering Great Performance

Demonstrates deep personal accountability for great performance, stays focused on commercial priorities and critical business agenda.

Knowing and being responsive to external influences on the business and knowing when and where to provide input/stand ground.

Flexible Working Statement: Flexibility is key to our success. From part-time and compressed hours to different locations, our people work flexibly in ways to suit them. Talk to us about what flexibility means to you so that you’re supported from day one.

Rewards & Benefits Statement: TE

Diversity statement: Our purpose is to celebrate life, every day, everywhere. And creating an inclusive culture, where everyone feels valued and that they can belong, is a crucial part of this. We embrace diversity in the broadest possible sense. This means that you’ll be welcomed and celebrated for who you are just by being you. You’ll be part of and help build and champion an inclusive culture that celebrates people of different gender, ethnicity, ability, age, sexual orientation, social class, educational backgrounds, experiences, mindsets, and more. Our ambition is to create the best performing, most trusted and respected consumer products companies in the world. Join us and help transform our business as we take our brands to the next level and build new ones as part of shaping the next generation of celebrations for consumers around the world.

Feel inspired? Then this may be the opportunity for you.

If you require a reasonable adjustment, please ensure that you capture this information when you submit your application.

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