Assistant IP lawyer / Paralegal (Trademarks and or Patents)

The chances are you’ve already experienced a little of ofi today. One in five chocolate bars produced anywhere in the world use our cocoa beans and products. We supply enough coffee beans to brew over 90 billion cups of coffee and our nuts, spices and dairy products are used in millions of products around the world. But we don’t just source or grow the raw materials for these products : our team of chefs and food scientists are working closely with our customers, sharing our fresh ideas to inspire new concepts. Making it real at every step, from plant to palate.

ofi is a global leader at the forefront of food & beverage consumer trends. Through its complementary portfolio of cocoa, coffee, dairy, nuts and spices ofi delivers sustainable, natural, and plant-based ingredients & solutions to its global and diversified customer base. ofi have 20,000+ employees, is in 51 countries and supplies food and raw materials to over 8,000 customers.

We’re also driven by our Purpose – ‘Be the change for good food and a healthy future’ . By working with ofi , you’ll be helping to create real impact on the ground. Sustainability is built into our business model - from our offices to our farming operations and supply chains, we’re acting across issues as diverse as farmer poverty, deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions.

Job Profile

The IP Team is part of our Legal team in the Netherlands. For the IP team a new a fulltime opportunity has arisen for an Assistant IP lawyer / Paralegal (Trademarks and or Patents). IP is part of the Legal so has interactions with other IP colleagues in different continents.

As our new colleague you will deal with a broad variation of IP and other topics relating to for example the legal and financial administration of our patent and trademark portfolio and individual rights, coordination of external patent and law firms, interaction with multiple internal departments such as R&D, finance, regulatory, legal, sales and marketing and involving various different business units and corporate functions.

Will you help us?

Your responsibilities

Reporting to the IP Legal Counsel being a part of the Legal function, you will have the following responsibilities :

• Assisting IP counsel in the management of our patent and trademark portfolio and other IP rights worldwide;
• Monitoring of procedures and deadlines set by national authorities;
• Corresponding and with and coordination of external paralegals of patent and law firms;
• Obtaining the rights papers and signatures needed for patent and trademark procedures;
• Docketing, archiving of external and internal correspondence on patent and trademark procedures;
• Assisting in reporting out to business units on the patent and trademark portfolio;
• Docketing and controlling our database and other systems used for portfolio management;
• Handling and controlling our financial administration & accounting, registration of invoices and control of expenditures made.

Your Qualifications