Trademark Paralegal

PURPOSE & OVERALL RELEVANCE FOR THE ORGANIZATION

To support and assist the Director Trademark Counsel with all aspects of the clearance, maintenance, protection and enforcement of adidas trademarks and designs in assigned countries and regions in accordance with agreed strategy and policies.

As a Trademark Paralegal you will be required to manage the trademark portfolio of various adidas brands, to assist in trademark matters and to provide basic legal advice associated with adidas’ trademarks. On a daily basis, you will conduct global trademark searches to check new names against third party’s trademark rights. You will also deal with trademark oppositions in various countries. You will be working with Anaqua (our IP Management System), Saegis and online brand protection tools.

You will be joining a diverse team of 20 colleagues from all over the world, mostly situated in Amsterdam, but also in some foreign countries, who are responsible for all adidas’ IP related matters, except for patent matters. You will work mostly independent but under supervision of the Director Trademark Counsel.

Accuracy and some knowledge of IP, and in particular experience with name clearance, are essential in this role.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Clearance of adidas names, slogans and product designs against third party rights, including attendance at line reviews and checking for compliance with adidas Brand Identity guidelines.

• Manage adidas trademark portfolios in assigned countries, (including reviewing watch notices; preparing supporting evidence for trade mark filings and oppositions; handling all correspondence on prosecution, maintenance and opposition matters; and ensuring compliance with adidas filing policies).

• Anti-counterfeiting work in assigned countries, including effective management of designated budget, providing training to customs and other enforcement authorities and identification of counterfeit adidas products.

• Support Director Trademark Counsel with the enforcement of adidas Group trademarks and designs in assigned countries, including supporting with trademark and design infringement cases in designated countries, collecting evidence, arranging formalities and managing straightforward cases with supervision of DirectorTrademark Counsel as required.

• Preparation of simple agreements relating to intellectual property matters from precedent agreements e.g. co-existence/settlement agreements and short form licence agreements with supervision of Director Trademark Counsel as required.

• General administrative work (such as handling of correspondence, archiving and scanning of documents); creation and maintenance of records in Anaqua IP management system; arranging for legalisation / notarisation of documents for assigned countries; and reviewing, coding and tracking of invoices to ensure correct allocation of costs for reporting purposes.

• Activities for the promotion of awareness of intellectual property matters to the adidas business, including training and presentations to Marketing, Product and Design teams.

• Special projects relating to intellectual property matters assigned by the Director Trademark Counsel from time to time.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

• Various internal Business Partners including:

o Global Trademarks team

o Global Brand & Sports Marketing Legal & Business Affairs and Global Legal Innovation teams

o Designers, Product and Marketing managers within the business

o Legal & senior management teams in assigned countries

• External legal contacts in assigned countries, including key stakeholders (customs, authorities etc.) and legal counsel.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES

• Fluent in English (oral and written) and an excellent communicator;

• Good organisational skills with an ability to prioritise effectively and give attention to detail;

• Able to work under time pressure.

• Comfortable working both independently as well as in a multicultural, international team;

• Confident and motivated, pro-active team player with a positive attitude.

REQUISITE EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE/ MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• At least 2 years of experience of trade mark portfolio management, including experience in trade mark clearance and enforcement.

• Strong IT skills; must be competent using MS Teams, Office 365 and associated applications; Knowledge of the Anaqua IP management system is an advantage.

Our highly qualified Global Trademarks team is made up of very motivated professionals, who collaborate with each other and the various business units within adidas to achieve extra-ordinary results in protecting the business’ IP assets