Latest IP Jobs

The Opportunity:
You will join a growing international team of experienced patent attorneys operating in a highly enriched field of science. You join a company which is the global leader within vaccines research, development and production and with a heritage spanning over 100 years. You will be located at the global headquarters for Vaccines based in Wavre, to the south of Brussels, Belgium and you will have an international role which encapsulates the entire spectrum of patent matters.
Being located at the Vaccines headquarters, you will have visibility to all relevant internal stakeholders and your involvement in support of the many projects being initiated is pivotal to the ongoing achievement of the company’s objectives. This role does not just ask of you to manage a portfolio of substantive patent cases. You will be given the opportunity to work in other high value IP issues including oppositions, attending and leading oral proceedings, and supporting the many and varied contract negotiations. GSK’s patent department operates a flat hierarchy which allows for a flexible and dynamic working group to be at the interface of science, law and business.

The Role:
• Reporting to the Assistant General Counsel, Global Patents Leader for Siena, Italy and Wavre, Belgium.
• Working with patent attorneys within the team in Wavre, in the UK, in Italy and the USA.
• Managing relationships with the local internal stakeholders including R&D, Business Development, Project Management, Legal, and Production & Manufacturing.
• Maintaining and developing an appropriate network inside GSK Vaccines – ‘walking the corridors’ and availing yourself to the needs of R&D.
• Undertaking the full spectrum of patent matters from substantive through to contentious and transactional.
To succeed in this position, you must have the willingness to learn and have a curious attitude; to never accept the status-quo but to challenge, question and deliver.

Professional Qualities:
• Ideally you will be educated in biology or a related degree. Equally, a chemistry background could also be an asset to the department, but an understanding of biotechnology would be helpful;
• Coming with in-house experience will be of benefit as you will quickly understand the daily challenges impacting the position. Conversely, the role would also suit someone who has worked for private practice.
• Whichever background you come from, what cannot be assuaged is your knowledge of the full patent life cycle from drafting through to post-grant matters as well as supporting due diligence. You may have a developed stronger foundation in some components of the patent process with support to be provided in other areas.

The Opportunity:
You have the opportunity to join a global leader within the FMCG sector. Reckitt Benckiser (RB) is highly revered within its industry and is respected amongst its peers, where innovation and partnership are in their DNA. Intellectual Property (IP) has always played a crucial role to the ongoing success of the businesses of RB but this has never been more so than in today’s highly competitive industry, where other global players continue to make use of their IP as a strategic tool to winning business and gaining market share.

To better position themselves, in 2017, RB recognized the need to split their business in to two distinct groups: Health and Hygiene Home (HyHo). The expectation of this demerger is to better respond to the changing competitive landscape each unique business unit faces and so continue their onward growth trajectory.

The Role:
The IP Department of RB employs patent attorneys in the UK, US, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy. The Department in Amsterdam, The Netherlands is managed by Karen Cawdell, who comes to the position with a strong background in the patent profession and has worked at Reckitt Benckiser for over 14 years. This position could be as part of this team located in the Amsterdam office where you will work alongside the Patent Director, a Patent Attorney and a Patent Paralegal or as a stand alone role in either Mira, Italy or Heidelberg in Germany.

You will be expected to advise and assist on relevant patent and design matters worldwide, including invention harvesting, drafting, prosecution, validity opinions, clearances, oppositions, and competitor monitoring. You will work with other members of the HHBU legal team, who are based in multiple locations internationally and where necessary, advice on IP aspects of agreements. There will be the opportunity to travel to the relevant global R&D site as required (UK, Italy, US).

Professional Qualities:
• There is flexibility when it comes to your technical background; the science involved in the company is diverse. However you will ideally come with a chemical engineering background, chemistry or related background.
• You will have worked in an in-house environment. The nature of this role dictates that you are able to avail yourself to the nuances of working in an industrial in-house patent department.
• You will be a qualified European Patent Attorney with a minimum of five years’ experience in the profession.
• You will have excellent drafting skills and experience in EPO oppositions and appeals.
• Experience in registered design work would be an advantage but not a requirement.

Applications: Please contact MWA on +44 (0)113 3910862 or alternatively e-mail your CV to Kieron Wright, Director or Sophie Caygill, Search Associate: kieron@mwaip.com or sophie@mwaip.com. All third party applications will be forwarded to MWA for review.

The Opportunity:
Alfa Laval is a global leader within its fields of expertise. Established since 1883, the Company offers you the opportunity to work in a world leading innovation-driven culture where intellectual property has been rooted in the bedrock of its foundation since the Company’s inception.

Alfa Laval now requires either a part-qualified or fully qualified attorney to join the team based in Lund. This role is to manage a portfolio of inventions and patents within the Foods technology business as well as materials and separation technology.
The matrix structure of the department ensures the portfolio of work can be tailored to an individuals’ expertise.

You will join a highly experienced and competent team and you will have the privilege of working with a wonderful mix of technologies; taking a leading role in managing the full life cycle of a designated patent portfolio. This is not a role which focuses just on substantive patent issues; this role also expects you to take a commercial view of the business, communicating patent strategy across multiple stakeholders. Contentious matters are becoming an ever increasing aspect to the challenges facing the department – this will undoubtedly have a growing impact on your daily affairs.

The Role:
The appointee will be required to take on the full patent life cycle from the embryo of invention to the finished product involving the following tasks:
• Working closely with the inventors in evaluation of the invention disclosures;
• Drafting and prosecution of the patent applications;
• Managing the patent portfolios and counselling on patent law and practice;
• Freedom-to-Operate analysis and due diligence;
• Competitor patent surveillance will be necessary;
• Support in oppositions and litigation;

Professional Qualities:
Your academic qualification includes mechanical engineering, engineering physics, materials, chemical engineering, chemistry, or a related degree. Your academic experience will have provided you with a broad base of scientific knowledge on which you have built your patent skills. You will come to the position with the European Patent Attorney qualification and with a background of working in-house or private practice. Part-qualified candidates are also of interest to Alfa Laval. Travelling is a natural part of the work and the work includes many international contacts. You should have good communication skills and be able to use English as a working language. Skills in further languages, e.g. Chinese, Italian, German or French, is an advantage.

As a person you should be well-organized with good coordination and multi-tasking skills. You should be accurate, flexible, committed and a team player.

Applications: Please contact MWA on +44 (0)113 3910862 or alternatively e-mail your CV to Kieron Wright, Director or Sophie Caygill, Search Associate: kieron@mwaip.com or sophie@mwaip.com. All third party applications will be forwarded to MWA for assessment.

V.O. Patents & Trademarks helps clients worldwide to get the best out of their intellectual property. V.O., established in 1916, is one of the biggest European patent attorney firms and is praised as a centre of excellence. In 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018 the firm received the Netherlands Prosecution IP Firm of the Year Award from Managing Intellectual Property. Its attorneys are admitted to practise before the European Patent Office (EPO). Further, the firm employs multiple internationals who also regularly assist in multi-jurisdictional litigation cases.

Why consider a career with V.O.:
• V.O. is one of the largest patent and trademark firms in Europe, employing over 200 professionals across multiple offices. You will get access to a deep pool of knowledge and expertise together with ownership to a wonderfully diverse and international client base.
• V.O. has successfully built up and established a Munich office which employs an international team of attorneys – German, UK, and Australian nationals. The team has been together since the office was set up in 2008.
• The office is managed by a highly skilled and experienced patent professional with close to twenty years of experience.
• V.O. is non-hierarchical.
• V.O. has multiple offices but operates as one voice. The shared ownership to the firm’s clients and the growth of the practice is self-evident when you talk to the attorneys and support functions.

The Role:
• You will be located at the Munich office and you will be part of the Physics/Electronics/Software team which includes eight qualified patent attorneys located at the offices in Germany and the Netherlands.
• You will be part of a team where the mix of work will be organised to suit your level of experience and ambitions. Direct client contact is a very important aspect of the role and you will be given visibility and accountability to existing clients, interacting with Technical and Research functions as well as in-house attorneys, IP managers and CEO’s.
• For your client portfolio, you will be involved right from the start of the patent process and your tasks will be equally broad ranging from drafting, prosecution, claim charting and analysis as well as becoming responsible for the more contentious post-grant matters. The client portfolio is international and whilst some of the clients are based in Germany, there is a large proportion of clients located overseas.

Knowledge/Experience/Skills Required:
• An academic background in physics, electronics, ICT or related degree;
• At least five years of post-qualified experience as German and European Patent Attorney;
• Full exposure to the patent life cycle preferably including post-grant matters;
• You will be coming from a private practice environment which will aid your quick transition into the appointment;
• A business understanding of patent activities and an interest in the typical duties expected from a patent attorney, including business acquisition activities.

Applications: Please contact MWA on +44 113 3910862 or alternatively e-mail your CV to Kieron Wright, Director or Sophie Caygill, Search Associate; kieron@mwaip.com or sophie@mwaip.com. All third-party applications will be forwarded to MWA for assessment

Why consider a career with Ström & Gulliksson:
• The firm aligns itself closely with its sister firm Advokatbyrån Gulliksson. This provides clients with a one-stop shop for their IP needs, attracting interesting clients with complex IP matters.
• Ström & Gulliksson has a high ratio of qualified European Patent Attorneys (EPAs), and its strategic recruiting aims at taking the EPA ratio to new levels. If you are a part-qualified attorney considering this opportunity, you will be secure in the knowledge that the firm cares deeply about its attorneys and their professional growth. If qualified, you will contribute to the coaching and training of trainees.
• The firm attracts attorneys from beyond the Swedish border. This adds to the rich knowledge base of the firm, which is shared openly across the practice.
• In parallel with its high-profile professional ambitions, the firm places high importance on attaining a positive work-life balance.
• Ström & Gulliksson has multiple offices but operates as one voice. There is a unity in what they do, and this helps to maintain a balanced workload across the teams.

The Role:
You will be located at the headquarters of the firm and you will be part of Senior Partner, Leif Jörgensson’s team. Leif has a wealth of knowledge of his clients and the wider patent industry and he is a senior figure who you will learn much in terms of the role and the patent process.
Equally, if you come to the role already qualified as a European Patent Attorney, you will be quickly introduced to a number of important clients of the firm with the objective of assuming a Key Account Manager role for one of the firm’s largest clients. In short, your career growth will be encouraged and supported with eventual partnership a realistic objective.

The Candidate:
• An academic background in mechanics, physics, electronics or related degree;
• At least three years working in the patent profession;
• Both part-qualified and qualified European Patent Attorneys will be considered;
• A business understanding of patent activities and have an interest in the typical duties expected from a patent attorney, as the person may also contribute to business acquisition activities;
• In view of some of the team’s most important clients and their competitive environment, knowledge of the German language is a merit for candidates. French is a bonus.

THE OPPORTUNITY:
You have the opportunity to join Nouryon which until recently was known as Akzo Nobel Specialty Chemicals and was formerly part of the Akzo Nobel Group but which has recently seen a successful separation to form its own stand-alone organization. Backed by the highly respected Carlyle Group, Nouryon is now embarking on a long-term growth trajectory, which has already identified substantial global expansion potential. With this progress comes the ever-critical support by the company’s highly experienced Intellectual Property (IP) Group.

THE ROLE:
The growing IP Department of Nouryon, which employs nine patent attorneys and local administrative support is organized across multiple locations with a concentration of patent attorneys located at the key research sites in Arnhem, Netherlands, and Chicago, USA. The group, which is managed by Marieke van Gent, Director of IP who reports into the General Counsel, has over 5000 granted patents in force and annually files around 50 priority patent applications.

As the appointee, you will be assigned a patent portfolio, depending on your technical background and experience. There is great flexibility on this and the portfolio can be organized to suit your skills. As well as supporting clients originating in Arnhem you may also handle patent projects residing at the R&D and Production facilities in Sweden, China and the USA.
The role is a full-service position and beyond the substantive duties, the need for providing IP advice to the business is key to your success.

KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE/SKILLS REQUIRED:
• At least five years of patent experience;
• Educated in chemistry or a related discipline;
• You will have worked either in-house or in private practice because you join an experienced attorney team working across a matrix arrangement – you will not be operating as an island!
• Whichever background you come from, what cannot be assuaged is your knowledge of the full patent life cycle from drafting through to post-grant matters as well as supporting due diligence. You may have developed stronger foundation in some components of the patent process and support provided in other areas;
• Fluency in English and a knowledge of Dutch would be helpful although not crucial to the post.

The Opportunity:
Electrolux is a global leader within the Consumer Appliance Sector and, through the former AEG Hausgeraete business, has a long-standing and successful history within the German market. With their German headquarters located in Nuremburg, and R&D situated close by in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, you join a patent Department which has high visibility amongst multiple functions including research, development, manufacturing, marketing and sales. Your addition to the German team is crucial to sustaining their ongoing presence within the organization and to support the respective product line and R&D, as well as other patent attorneys located in Sweden, Italy, USA and Brazil.

The IP Department employs patent attorneys in Sweden, Germany, Italy, Brazil and the USA. The Department in Nuremburg, Germany is managed by Dr. Christian Mohr, who comes to the position with a strong background in the patent profession being European and German Patent, Trademark and Design Attorney. The team in Germany, which is expected to be six in number once the new attorney is hired, and which includes a mix of patent attorneys (three) and support staff (four), manages a portfolio of approximately 800 patent families.

Why Join:
❖ You join a global leader within the Appliance market.
❖ You become part of a global company which has a proven long-history of innovation success.
❖ The patent team you join is at the heart of the Electrolux innovation community, where IP transcends the organisation.
❖ You join a team with a wealth of experience in the business – not just the attorneys but research engineers who are passionate about their business and who understand the importance of IP.
❖ You become the ‘expert’ for your designated business area and your opinion will be heard and respected.

Professional Qualities:
❖ You come to this position with at least five years of patent experience, having successfully completed your EQE – at least partially, and ideally having passed the German bar admission exam as Patentassessor. Candidates who are part-way through the EQE qualification may also be considered as the department is nimble enough to be flexible to the needs of the individual. Equally, someone coming to the role with having solely the German qualification, but willing to commence preparing the EQE could be considered.
❖ You will be educated in Software, Mechanical, Electronics or Physics or a related discipline. Whilst the business category is quite specific, the technologies within it are broad, including mechanical, electrical engineering, mechatronics and even software!
❖ Coming with in-house experience will be of benefit as you will quickly understand the daily challenges impacting the position. Conversely, the role would also suit someone who has worked for private practice provided you have experience of working directly with clients. Experience in two-party proceedings, particularly opposition, appeal and litigation is considered a strong plus.
❖ You will be fluent in English and in German.

Who is Ström & Gulliksson ?
Ström & Gulliksson is a top-tier European patent firm based in Sweden. Since 1975, the business has combined patent services and legal services, working in close association with Advokatbyrån Gulliksson. To this day, we still share office space to make it easier to offer a full range of IP services to our clients, from patent preparation, patent prosecution, patent litigation and strategic patent counselling. During legal proceedings, the patent attorneys of Ström & Gulliksson and the attorneys-at-law of Advokatbyrån Gulliksson commonly work together as a close-knit team.

What is a Ström & Gulliksson Patent Attorney?
Ström & Gulliksson patent attorneys are business-minded with a profound technical knowledge who are passionate about patent law. Our clients are our primary focus! Through commitment and dedication, our people carry out non-contentious as well as contentious patent work in the creation of value for the companies we serve. We are ambitious, dedicated and commercially astute when it comes to helping organisations navigate the intricacies of patent law.

Where is the position based?
The position would be based at our offices in Stockholm, where we have seen year-on-year growth over the last seven years, and which employs 5 patent attorneys and 2 paralegals, a high ratio of which are qualified patent attorneys in EP, SE and UK. For those of you who are new to Stockholm, the capital is one of the world’s most beautiful cities and a world leader when it comes to innovation. Its growing economy accounts for its increasing popularity with internationals as a place to settle.

Why become a Ström & Gulliksson Patent Attorney?
There is no ceiling to your development and career progression. Ström & Gulliksson is a partnership and it rewards those attorneys who provide commitment and ambition. The firm offers reasonable working hours, reasonable billing targets based on knowledge and experience, a focus on quality, and a possibility to be involved in contentious patent work, all within one of the world’s most beautiful cities.

The Opportunity
Electrolux is a global leader within the Appliance Sector and you have the opportunity to join the Italian team of Electrolux Group Patents, which is based in Porcia, Italy. In the same place the Italian headquarters are located, as well as important R&D and production facilities, including those of Fabric Care, the Business Unit related to washing machines, driers and washer-driers, to which the Italian patent team dedicates much of his work. You will therefore play a highly visible role as patent attorney in support of the growth of this and other Businesses, by a proper protection of their innovation and harvesting of their IP Rights and Assets.

The IP Department employs patent attorneys in Italy, Sweden, Germany, Brazil and the USA. The Department in Porcia, Italy is managed by Mr. Paolo Markovina who has over twenty years of experience in the patent profession. The team in Italy plays a crucial role in the support of several key R&D and business units including Fabric Care, Food Preservation, Global Connectivity & Technology and Professional.

Why Join
❖ You become part of a global company which has a proven history of innovation success.
❖ The patent team you join is at the heart of the Electrolux innovation community, where IP transcends the organisation.
❖ You join a team with a wealth of experience in the business – not just the attorneys but research engineers who are passionate about their business and who understand the importance of IP.
❖ You will cover the full gamut of patent duties including contentious and transactional support.
❖ You become the ‘expert’ for your designated business area and your opinion will be heard and respected.

Professional Qualities
❖ You come to this position with at least five years of patent experience, having successfully completed your EQE.
❖ You will be educated in Mechanic, Physics or a related discipline.
❖ You will have experience of the full patent life-cycle with a focus on the substantive component.

If you would like to explore this position further, please email Kieron Wright, Director at kieron@mwaip.com or contact +44 (0)113 3910862. This position is being exclusively handled by MWA and all third party applications will be forwarded to us for consideration.
European

THE OPPORTUNITY:
NLO is a long-established top tier international IP firm and one of Europe’s largest IP consultancies. Employing over 180 staff across its offices in The Hague, Amsterdam, Ede, Eindhoven and Ghent in Belgium, the firm provides full-scale IP support for clients’ portfolios.

The Chemistry Section of NLO sets itself apart from many of its Dutch competitors, providing its attorneys with a highly revered direct client base including a number of well-known multinationals. With big corporates, you would be forgiven for assuming that NLO attorneys receive instruction at arms-length. This certainly is not the case. The attorneys are in the privileged position to sit down with the inventors, heads of research, in-house attorneys, and commercial leaders. NLO cares deeply about fostering these relationships, and they prefer to augment this through seconding their attorneys to the client’s site to get under the skin in understanding what impact IP has in the wider context of the client’s commercial direction.

THE ROLE:
The role exists to ensure that NLO enables its clients in building their IP position – be that from scratch or through ongoing innovation. This is achieved by providing strategic patent support, which is proactive, commercially attuned and responsive to the demands of the client. One key aspect to the role is the need to become involved in post-grant matters, especially oppositions before the EPO; NLO is highly active in this area of IP, which is again, quite unique to the private practice sector.

You will join a team of experienced patent attorneys who have come from differing backgrounds: industry or previous IP firms, but who share the same vision of what IP should mean to a company. You will be a strong personality who can impart knowledge and experience across the team when required but who can also show consistent high work output. Your career trajectory will be to eventual Associate Partner and you will be given the ‘tools’ to help you get there.

KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE/SKILLS REQUIRED:
• You are a recently qualified European patent attorney or you have sat the EQE exam in in 2018;
• You will come to this position with an academic background in chemistry, chemical technology, food technology, pharmacy or related degree. Due to the variety of clients and the breadth of technologies, the position can be ‘dressed’ to suit you;
• If you have experience of post-grant matters, then this would be useful although not critical to the post;
• Demonstrable business acumen and knowledge with the ability to quickly understand key IP issues relating to a business.

THE ROLE:

Located at the corporate Headquarters in Amsterdam you will provide IP services in support of the company’s global research-based facilities. This is not a role which focuses just on substantive patent issues; this role also expects you to take a commercial view of the business, communicating patent strategy across multiple stakeholders but to also take ownership for managing external counsel, and ensuring maximum protection of TomTom’s intellectual property right and assets. Exposure to the full scope of TomTom’s business and a need to provide business-tailored advice to a multitude of clients is a crucial aspect of this key appointment.

KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE/SKILLS REQUIRED:

• A first degree in Software, Computer Science or a related discipline.
• European Patent Attorney qualification or equivalent (e.g. US) preferably with up to three years post-qualification experience. Part-qualified attorneys may also be considered.
• A strong foundation in drafting and prosecution activities which can then be tailored to the differing needs of the business groups and cases under your charge.
• A background in industry or private practice; both environments are equally useful to the post. What determines who will be suitable will relate to the ‘added value’ in terms of communication, team-work, and business acumen.

You have the opportunity to join a firm with a reputation for being highly responsive, flexible, caring and accommodating when it comes to adapting its approach to meeting clients’ needs as well as the needs of its employees. Fifty attorneys and a large team of paralegals, administrators and other support functions ensure the efficient delivery of client services across a range of sectors.

With offices across the UK, the firm is now ready to embark on a truly exciting chapter of international expansion in Sweden, where a number of their key clients reside. This decision has not been taken lightly and after extensive consultation among the partners, it has been agreed to appoint a number of attorneys – both patent and trademark – to open the office before the end of 2018.

As a newly appointed partner to the firm, you will play a key part in realising this vision, where you will draw on your IP knowledge and experience as you help the firm build its commercial foundation in the heart of Scandinavia. You may have a following of clients although this is not expected. What is expected is that you will take Barker Brettell to your heart in promoting the brand of this wonderfully collective and collegiate firm; one which truly values work/life balance and which takes a pragmatic and long-term view to this next step in the life of the practice.

The Opportunity
You have the opportunity to join a firm which has one of the longest and successful histories in UK intellectual property and a client base of equal longevity. AA Thornton is recognised internationally as a practice which cares deeply about the bespoke services it provides its long-established client base, which in turn transcends the firm with a conscientious effort and drive for professional support and development of their attorneys.
AA Thornton is embarking on a truly exciting chapter, following the decision to open a full-service international office in Germany; the second half of 2018 as the target. This decision has not been taken lightly and after extensive internal consultation among the partners, it has been agreed to appoint a number of attorneys – both patent and trademark – to be based in Munich. AA Thornton wishes to increase attorney capacity, build a local profit centre and have offices close to the EPO.

As a newly appointed partner to the firm, you will play a key part in realising this vision, where you will build on your following of clients through a combination of new business acquisition as well as assuming responsibility for a number of clients passed across from the UK-based team.

The Roles
AA Thornton is looking to appoint a Senior Patent Attorney and Trademark Attorney, preferably at partnership level, to take a leading role in setting up, running and growing a new Munich office, with responsibility for growing the firm’s German client base.
As a patent attorney you will be part of the Patent Group, including five partners and employing twenty-one patent attorneys across all technical fields. You will also be a conduit for European prosecution work emanating from Asia.
Working as part of the Trade Mark Group, you will be one of three partners employing seven trade mark attorneys. You will have responsibility for growing the firm’s German and EUIPO trade mark work.

The culture of the team is commercial, team-based and approachable and whilst client growth and development are important elements, these are ancillary to the need to have the right attitude, enthusiasm and entrepreneurial spirit to be part of an exciting phase in the firm’s growth.

The Opportunity:
You have the opportunity to join a highly commercial firm which is in the ascendency. HGF has marked itself out from the rest of the market as a firm employing strong business-acumen attorneys who truly understand what their clients need in terms of IP support.

With established offices in the UK, HGF had their first successful internationalisation with an office in The Hague and have since augmented their ambitions to expand further with an office in Amsterdam and also Basel, Switzerland. The Hague office has grown since its establishment in 2015 and has firm connections with universities and small businesses in the area as well as expertise in a range of fields including chemistry, life science, polymer science, bio sciences and pharmaceuticals. There is now the need for two patent attorneys to join the team and increase the Dutch presence.

Based out of the modern offices in Zuid Hollandlaan in The Hague, you will play a key role in supporting Achim Krebs, Partner and Ronald Shapira, Consultant by taking on an existing caseload for universities and small businesses. You will be joining a small but growing entrepreneurial team, which fosters a collective culture.

This role can be dressed to suit your level of experience, and you will work alongside your colleagues in The Hague in helping to shape the ongoing development of the office and the firm as a whole. Simultaneously, you will be provided with an existing portfolio, providing exemplary and commercially relevant patent advice to a diverse array of clients within the life science field.

Why Join:
HGF is one of the UK’s leading intellectual property rights specialists, who are offering an exciting position in The Hague that will allow you to put your legal and technical expertise to great and truly important use. They have a reputation for looking after their staff, offering a great workspace and a wealth of benefits to ensure that everybody can develop and improve their industry skills as the firm grows. At HGF they manage the company with an unconventional hierarchy to give every individual, regardless of position, room to progress. They do everything they can to help each other connect with and work alongside their leading attorneys and lawyers, both in day-to-day work and at the training events and seminars held throughout the year for professionals.

Skills Required:
• Your technical background will be within life sciences, pharmaceuticals or chemistry.
• You will be either a part-qualified Patent Attorney or a fully qualified Attorney. If the former, full training and support will be given to qualifying as a European Patent Attorney.
• You will be highly motivated and pro-active with the drive and determination to assist in the development of the practice and the firm as a whole.
• You may have come from industry or private practice; both environments are equally useful to the post.
• You have effective communication skills with an open and engaging personality in order to connect with the clients and to lead, influence and persuade when necessary.
• You will have a strategic mind and be able to take initiative in terms of evolving processes and bring new ideas to the firm.

The Opportunity:
Umicore is a global materials technology group, recognized for its innovation and product development within catalysis, performance materials, energy materials, and recycling.

The IP Department is responsible for the provision of patent services across twenty separate business units. The Director of IP has organised the Department across a flat structure, in order to better embed the IP Managers into the business, thus relinquishing all patent-related matters to his team members. This management approach enables each patent attorney to work closely with the designated business unit, providing broad patent strategy advice as well as handling the substantive component.

Your role is a full service IP post. With the broad variety of business units comes an equally broad range of market pressures – each requiring a bespoke IP strategy. You will immerse yourself into one of the new and growing business units within the field of anode materials. As part of a team of two other experienced attorneys your role will include educating inventors, through to running IP steering committees and handling transactional matters. Oppositions and other post-grant activities are also prevalent in the role. You have the support of Geert but he will ultimately leave much of the decision-making duties to you. Umicore will provide you with ample in house and external training opportunities to grow and maintain your knowledge across this broad spectrum of IP work within the international context.

Key Skills and Knowledge Required:

• Your technical background will be in mechanics, process engineering, or chemistry. A PhD or Engineering degree would be an advantage as would experience in catalysis or battery materials.
• You will be a qualified European or National Patent Attorney. The experience you bring to this post will determine the complexity of cases placed within your charge.
• You will have been schooled across substantive and post grant activities. The nature of the role requires that you are equipped with the full ‘tool-box’ in which to advise your clients.
• You will have worked in an in-house environment or if from private practice, will have been responsible for providing patent services directly to the research teams and not through an in-house attorney. The nature of this role dictates that you are able to avail yourself to the nuances of working in-house.

Applications: Please contact MWA on +44 (0)113 3910862 or alternatively e-mail your CV to Kieron Wright, Director or Sophie Caygill, Search Associate: kieron@mwaip.com or sophie@mwaip.com. All third party applications will be forwarded to MWA for assessment.

The Company:
You have the opportunity to join Sweden’s second most innovative company and the leading supplier of glueless click floorings and furniture. Founded in 1993, Välinge pioneered this concept and changed the way people install and use floorings using their world-wide patented technology. Today their technology base covers all fields related to floating flooring but also to other applications such as furniture and surfaces and the facility in Viken is considered to be the worlds most advanced R&D centre relating to laminate, wood and wood-powder based flooring technology.

The Role:
The IP department which comprises a team of five, reports into Mr Ola Engstrand, Director of IP. Ola is a member of the Board and reports to the CEO of the company.
Your first few months will be spent focused on understanding the culture of the business, ranging from gaining an appreciation of the competitive landscape to advising the business, research, marketing and legal team on IP issues.
There will be opportunities for professional development as the department continues to grow in line with the growing needs of the business and your diet of work can be tailored to help you grow as an attorney. There will be full training and support given for candidates studying for their examinations towards qualifying as a European Patent Attorney.

Professional Qualities:

Electrolux, Italy
European Patent Attorney