IP Manager

Position Overview

Novelis is one of the world leaders in aluminum recycling and rolling and a leading sustainable aluminum solutions provider. Driven by our purpose of shaping a sustainable world together, we work alongside our customers to provide innovative solutions to the aerospace, automotive, beverage packaging and specialty markets. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Novelis has approximately 13,000 employees in 32 operating facilities on 4 continents.

Responsibilities & Qualifications

The Legal team, located in Atlanta, GA is seeking an IP Manager. The IP Manager is accountable for maximizing the value of Novelis's intellectual property for the technology groups they support. The IP Manager is also responsible for minimizing the impact of third-party intellectual property rights on Novelis's technical and/or commercial strategies. The protection of Novelis's intellectual property depends upon an effective patent management process, which is made up of several components.

The IP Manager will be expected to take a leading role across various technical portfolios in assessing the best approach and strategy for handing the Novelis invention records to fit the overall strategy for the technology they pertain to.

Responsibilities

* Work with R&D and other inventor groups to identify areas of innovation and possible new patent applications or trade secrets.

* Regular communications with inventors to instruct them in how to best fill out Invention Records, to advise as to the appropriate time to submit Invention Records, etc.

* Continuously educate inventors on both process and overall understanding of IP laws, pitfalls and best practices to best handle Novelis' IP

* Understand in detail from the inventors the scope and impact of their ideas, help them with a strategy on how to complete their invention record filing and assess the optimal strategy for handling the invention records based on other IP filing status both internally and externally to Novelis

* Influence and engage inventors on their full support and collaboration in pursuit of the recommended IP protection strategy/ approach

* Manage the filing of new patent applications, analyze prior art, review claim and specification scope.

* Utilize both technical and legal expertise to support the IP Team in the procurement and protection of patents, including supervising outside counsel in their preparation of patent applications, review of patent applications to ensure adequate scope of coverage and alignment with Novelis's IP protection strategy

* Review and endorse IP-related language in contracts on Novelis's behalf.

* Review the legal terms pertaining to IP on legal documents including commercial, technology, alliance, and any other agreements impacting Novelis's technology.

* Provide input on edits as they relate to IP.

* Manage the entire patent process including prosecution of pending applications, portfolio reviews, and patent renewals, within designated technical fields.

* Work with GTDs or their designees to obtain input during prosecution to ensure that final granted claim scope aligns with Novelis's commercial and business objectives, determine whether to maintain issued patents in various jurisdictions, assess the strategic value of patent families to Novelis's patent portfolio, etc.

* Be a trusted business partner and thought leader with the GTD's for our commercial value streams to build an aligned strategy for protecting Novelis intellectual property

* Monitor third-party patent applications and patents and inform relevant internal clients when potential threats are identified.

* Regularly review patent watches and topic alerts to identify threats to Novelis, and work with inventors, GTDs, and the IP Team re how to best respond to those threats. The patent watches and topic alerts can take several hours to review and discuss internally.

* Coordinate oppositions against competitor patents.

* Work with internal technical teams, the IP Team, and outside counsel to determine whether and when to oppose competitor patents, obtain the necessary supporting technical documentation to deliver a successful outcome, review and analyze opposition-related documents including legal arguments.

* Promote awareness of Novelis's IP protection process and strategy through training sessions.

* Support the IP Team in its ongoing training and education efforts globally.

Minimum qualifications

* Bachelor of Science or Engineering (mechanical engineering or similar degree); USPTO Registration

* 5+ years acting as a patent attorney or patent agent in a law firm or similar in-house role. Typically, this experience follows a technical degree and experience in the technology-related field chosen. Extensive experience with preparing and prosecuting patent applications, extensive knowledge of U.S. patent law with high familiarity with key foreign jurisdictions (WIPO, Europe, Brazil, Korea, China, etc.).

* Analytical, strong communicator (written and oral), responsive, ability to multi-task…