Associate General Counsel, Trademarks and Copyrights

Key Skills

Aartificial intelligence, Copyright, Effective communication skills, Leadership Skill, Machine learning techniques, Patent and Trademark Law

Job Description

The Legal & Policy Team is Snap’s dedicated in-house law firm, policy consultant, lobbyist, though partner, and all-around advisor. This team helps Snap do the right thing the right way, make better decisions, understand and manage risks, and creatively navigate challenges, both external and internal. We partner with Snap team members on a wide array of matters, including privacy, product, commercial transactions, corporate governance, employment acquisitions, litigation, policy, and social impact. The Legal & Policy Team values diversity and knows it powers us as we build an innovative and inclusive leadership culture centered on Snap’s values of Kind, Smart, and Creative. 

We’re looking for an Associate General Counsel, Trademarks & Copyrights, to join our Legal Team!

What You’ll Do

• Lead all trademark and copyright matters, including managing strategic international coverage plans, trademark enforcement, clearance, registration, and prosecution, copyright issues and analyses, domain issues

• Collaborate with litigation team(s) for litigation matters involving trademarks and copyrights

• Resolve disputes alleging claims of IP infringement against Snap

• Work closely with Marketing, Branding, Engineering, Product, Design, and Content teams to understand and assess new marketing and branding campaigns, as well as products and technologies, and advise those teams about the IP risks

• Analyze potential legal risks and regulatory requirements involving copyrights and trademarks, including cutting-edge issues around artificial intelligence and machine learning

• Advise product teams on how to comply with secondary liability safe harbors like the DMCA

• Collaborate with legal colleagues on multidisciplinary legal matters, for example, advising commercial legal colleagues on IP-related language in commercial agreements

• Conduct IP due diligence reviews and integration plans for potential acquisitions and partnerships

• Creatively navigate right-of-publicity issues

• Help scale the legal organization by developing innovative processes to support the fast-moving Engineering, Product, and Design teams

• Manage outside counsel to increase the quality of their representation, such as improving processes, writing strength, and how they report information

• Provide practical and business-centric advice to clients

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Deep knowledge of trademark prosecution and opposition practice and procedures at the USPTO, and some knowledge of the same at international trademark offices

• Ability to revise trademark filing and maintenance strategies in view of evolving company needs

• Experience advising clients on the applicability of First Amendment and fair use defenses in the context of copyright and trademark

• Knowledge and experience with platform responsibilities under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and similar laws

• Excellent legal and business judgment with the ability to think strategically

• Extreme attention to detail, business-friendly, and a phenomenal teammate who is able to think creatively and accommodate tight deadlines

• Strong work ethic and able to work independently and collaboratively

• Able to communicate effectively with partners across the company on complex, multifaceted issues

• Executive presence and a leadership style that projects confidence and will earn the respect of Snap executives, business teams, and engineering and product teams

• Experience advising marketing/branding/content teams as well as product/engineering teams

• Experience in a meaningful leadership/management role

• Experience with copyright issues involving generative artificial intelligence and machine learning a plus

Minimum Qualifications

• J.D. from an accredited university

• 8+ years of experience practicing trademark and copyright law

• Valid active membership in at least one state bar

Preferred Qualifications

• 8+ years of core trademark and copyright experience (counseling, clearance, prosecution, enforcement, litigation) with a law firm or in-house at a company with an international trademark portfolio

• 6+ years in-house experience or law firm experience counseling technology or media clients on complex copyright and trademark matters

• Third-party integration-related experience is a plus

Default Together Policy at Snap: At Snap Inc. we believe that being together in person helps us build our culture faster, reinforce our values, and serve our community, customers and partners better through dynamic collaboration. To reflect this, we practice a default together approach and expect our team members to work in an office 4+ days per week

If you are not based in the same location(s) listed for this role and are open to relocation, we encourage you to apply to take advantage of our generous relocation policy.

Our Benefits: Snap Inc. is its own community, so we’ve got your back! We do our best to make sure you and your loved ones have everything you need to be happy and healthy, on your own terms. Our benefits are built around your needs and include paid maternity & paternity leave, comprehensive medical coverage, emotional and mental health support programs, and compensation packages that let you share in Snap’s long-term success.

At Snap, we believe that having a team of diverse backgrounds and voices working together will enable us to create innovative products that improve the way people live and communicate. Snap is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and committed to providing employment opportunities regardless of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other protected classification, in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please don’t be shy and contact us at accommodations-ext@snap.com.

Compensation

In the United States, work locations are assigned a pay zone which determines the salary range for the position. The successful candidate’s starting pay will be determined based on job-related skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions. These pay zones may be modified in the future.

Zone A (CA, WA, NYC):

The base salary range for this position is $268,000-$402,000 annually.

Zone B:

The base salary range for this position is $255,000-$382,000 annually.

Zone C:

The base salary range for this position is $228,000-$342,000 annually.

This position is eligible for equity in the form of RSUs.