Ericsson is a world leader in the rapidly changing environment of communications technology. Ericsson’s core business is equipping mobile networks, and the company is one of the most important providers in this field: 40 percent of the world’s mobile traffic is handled by Ericsson network technology.
This is an exciting in-house opportunity to join Ericsson’s expanding IP Team in the UK. The team is a highly driven yet collaborative team of senior attorneys and you will have the opportunity to take ownership of your own patent portfolio, necessitating exposure to the whole patent lifecycle. The successful attorney will join an IP department boasting the industry’s strongest patent portfolio and contributing to the support of one of the world’s most successful patent licensing businesses.
The Opportunity
The Patent Professional who joins the team will play a pivotal role in developing effective intellectual property assets for Ericsson’s innovations and technologies.
This includes identifying patentable inventions, assessing business, technical and legal merits and obtaining patent protection in various jurisdictions in accordance with Ericsson’s overall strategy.
The responsibilities encompass the evaluation of invention disclosures, the drafting and prosecution of patent applications, and handling portfolios of patents. Additionally, the position involves assisting with licensing and assertion of patents, to provide a business benefit to Ericsson.
Collaboration with inventors, technical experts, a range of specialists globally across the patent department, and external law firms will be part of this role. This collaboration extends globally, working closely with colleagues worldwide, with a particular emphasis on Sweden, to secure granted patents and actively contribute to the licensing of these patents.
The key responsibilities will include the following:
- ldentifying and protecting patentable inventions, working in close cooperation with inventors from research & development;
- Handling and deciding on patent applications including drafting, filing and prosecuting patent applications in multiple countries;
- Assessing and navigating the desired extent of patent protection;
- Providing advice on validity, relevance and scope of both Ericsson and third-party patents;
- Managing patent portfolios and making sure that quality is secured for their standard essential patents (SEPs) and implementation patents;
- Participate in portfolio management & claim charting
- Investigating and supporting in technical discussions for licensing and sales opportunities for Ericsson’s patents;
- Support licensing and litigation of patents
- Continuously improving the ways of working within the above areas.
The Candidate
This is an equal opportunity appointment. Any biased reference in the text is made merely for the sake of brevity and convenience. The successful candidate is likely to fulfil the following criteria:
- Be a fully qualified or part-qualified European Patent Attorney;
- Be educated in telecommunications, electrical engineering, physics, computer science or a related field;
- Ideally possess understanding of and experience within 3G, 4G and/or 5G standardisation and/or mobile phone/system implementation. Knowledge in the field of radio access network/ antenna systems also an advantage;
- Interest in collaborating with others to obtain granted patents, and learning about supporting their licensing business.
- Be fluent in English;
- Show commercial awareness and interest in Ericsson’s technologies and future aims;
- Possess strong organisational, multi-tasking and negotiation skills, be accurate, flexible and able to work well in an immediate and wider team;
- Have a solution-orientated working style, with strong analytical skills;
- Demonstrate openness, enthusiasm and confidence in decision making;
- Be an excellent communicator, able to convey information to professionals at all levels and across different business areas.
