Trade Mark Paralegal - Home Care

Job Title: Trade Mark Paralegal - Home Care

Location:100VE

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.

For the candidate with the right level of experience, we anticipate that the person will have the opportunity to work independently and to manage their own case load in time, liaising as necessary with trade mark counsels for relevant supervision.

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.

· Prepare TM application instructions for review by counsels.

· 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!

NOTES

About Unilever

Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 2 billion consumers a day. Unilever has more than 400 brands found in homes around the world, including Dove, Tresemme, Lynx, Lifebuoy, Shea Moisture, Persil, Domestos, Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum, Marmite, The Vegetarian Butcher, Graze and Pot Noodle.

Faced with the challenge of climate change and the need for human development, we want to move towards a world where everyone can live well and within the natural limits of the planet. That’s why our purpose is ‘to make sustainable living commonplace’

Location  

In September 2020, Unilever announced the intention to build a new sustainable campus site in Kingston, London to house the employees who currently work in 100 Victoria Embankment in Blackfriars, Lever House in Kingston, Unilever House in Leatherhead and Graze in Richmond. We are creating our own Unilever sustainable, agile work environment, purposefully bringing us together in our own Unilever ecosystem. The campus is due to be completed in early 2025 and will consist of two interconnected buildings, as well as landscaped surrounding areas. 

What We Offer

Not only do we offer a competitive salary and pension scheme, we also offer an annual bonus, subsidised gym membership, a discounted staff shop and shares. You’ll have the opportunity to work directly with our renowned and exciting brands in a flexible and hybrid working environment.

Whilst the role is advertised on a full-time basis, we would be happy to discuss possible flexible working options and what this may look like for you. We are a key advocate of wellbeing and offer a variety of support for our people including hubs, programmes and development opportunities. We strive to achieve a family-friendly and inclusive workplace and to, above all, create possibilities for all.

Diversity at Unilever is about inclusion, embracing differences, creating possibilities and growing together for better business performance. We embrace diversity in our workforce. This means giving full and fair consideration to all applicants and continuing development of all employees regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity. We are also more than happy to provide reasonable adjustments during our application and interview process to enable you to be present your best self. To find out more, including about our Employee Resource Groups, please click here Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at Unilever | Unilever.

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How is Unilever tackling this?

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