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Trainee Patent attorney

Add Value - 14 November 2008

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Job Description

Add Value is an executive search agency with an interesting client portfolio with challenging job opportunities.
Our client is a Ghent (Belgium) based agricultural biotech company delivering agronomic traits for the global commercial seed markets. The company's trait discovery and development program focuses on enhancing grain yield in corn and rice.
Our client currently employs about 90 people, and is highly diverse with employees from 8 nationalities. The IP department consists of 3 patent professionals (1 attorney who heads the IP department, 2 attorney-trainees, support staff).
Over the last decades, Ghent has developed towards being a major growth pole and a knowledge centre in the area of biotechnology, driven by the knowledge of its University and a large number of spin offs and start up companies in the area.
In order to face their growth our client is looking for a Trainee patent attorney.
POSITION
The position is new and expresses the company’s ambition to grow and its awareness that such growth will only be possible providing the company’s IP assets are managed and protected adequately.
The IP department ensures appropriate and cost-effective protection of the company’s intellectual property via the gathering and internal dissemination to the company’s management of information related to IP and technology positions of both the company and its competitors. The department is responsible to follow up, support and give direction to all R&D and business activities relating to technology and Intellectual Property, and perform the legal and administrative procedures related hereto (either directly or via outside counsel).
The new hired trainee patent attorney will report to the Ghent based Head of IP will be engaged in:
- Drafting and prosecution of patent filings, sometimes in conjunction with outside service providers ww.
- Follow-up and support the activities in R&D with regard to Intellectual Property (IP) issues. This comprises being aware of new developments in the own research and with competitors, identifying new inventions, providing appropriate IP information to relevant persons in R&D.
- Obtain in a cost-effective manner, optimal legal protection of inventions and other intellectual property (e.g. trademarks).
- Challenge, in a cost-effective way IP rights of others by opposition or similar proceedings
- Support the Business activities in relation to IP matters and partnering discussions
- Assist in co-ordination of IP-related litigation, in close association with external and internal counsel. Represent the company towards external patent counsels.
- Contribute to the building up of a strong IP team, both at local and group level.
PROFILE
EDUCATION:
- Life sciences degree e.g. in biology, biochemistry or pharmaceuticals; a PhD in a relevant domain. Equivalent experience will also be considered.
- Candidates with significant experience and who have partly succeeded EQE or with the intention to take part in the EQE.
EXPERIENCE:
- A relevant experience as a patent professional in a scientific department of a company in the life sciences industry or in a patent office with clients in a relevant area; an experience level will be considered “relevant” when a candidate can operate fairly autonomously, even if coaching and feedback by the Head of IP will be granted.
- A “plant biology” background is a strong asset, even if experience in other life sciences areas may be sufficient.
COMPETENCES:
- Excellent communicator, written and orally
- Team and client oriented
- Meticulous and perseverant
LANGUAGES:
- Fluency in English; German, Dutch or any other language will be considered an asset.
OFFER
- A challenging position in an exciting environment with a cutting-edge and innovative technology
- Possibility for personal and professional growth
- Qualification support will be offered by the company in preparing to take the EQE
- Competitive salary package
CONTACT
For more information, contact Karolien Terneven on +32 741 87 97.
Send your CV and application letter to info@addvalue.eu mentioning reference KTE-SDC 0845- Patent Attorney.

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