Summary
This position is located in the Office of the Solicitor, Office of General Counsel. The Senior Trademark Legal Counsel serves as a principal litigation strategist and advisor, specializing in trademark law and trademark policy. The role demands initiative and a comprehensive understanding of trademark law and policy, trademark litigation, administrative law, and intellectual property law and policy more broadly, including copyright law, due to the extensive responsibilities of the position.
This job is open to
Clarification from the agency
U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.
Duties
As the Senior Trademark Legal Counsel, you will have the exciting opportunity to serve as one of the recognized experts for the USPTO, on trademark policy and litigation issues for the Solicitor's Office. The Senior Trademark Legal Counsel position is located in the Office of the Solicitor within the Office of General Counsel. In this significant role you must exercise initiative and proficiency in trademark law, administrative law, litigation, agency regulations, and trademark policy.
The Senior Trademark Legal Counsel renders legal and policy advice on trademark matters through the Solicitor, Deputy Solicitor, and the General Counsel to the Under Secretary and Director of the USPTO and other members of the USPTO's senior staff; and should have high level of experience and expertise in (1) Trademark law, litigation, and policy issues, (2) Rulemaking and administrative law, and (3) District court and appellate litigation. The position serves as the Solicitor's Office's liaison with other USPTO business units regarding trademark policy and legal issues while coordinating the USPTO's efforts in federal court trademark-related litigation with a focus on overseeing the Solicitor's Office work in district court actions brought under 35 U.S.C. § 1071(b) and the Administrative Procedure Act and identifying opportunities for the USPTO to file amicus and intervenor briefs in significant trademark and copyright cases.
As the Senior Trademark Legal Counsel, you will also:
- Review and propose revisions to the trademark statutes, rules, and manuals of procedure;
- Provide legal opinions on availability of marks proposed to be used by the agency;
- Coordinate the Solicitor's Office's efforts in district court litigation involving trademark and administrative law issues;
- Attend meetings on behalf of the Solicitor or Deputy Solicitor;
- Review briefs to be filed by the Solicitor's Office in trademark cases;
- Have supervisory responsibility for Associate Solicitors, and handle other matters as assigned.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- Applicants will only be accepted from United States Citizens and Nationals.
- Required to pass a background investigation and fingerprint check.
- Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov) Suitable for Federal employment.
- If selected, you may be required to complete a two-year trial period.
Qualifications
To meet the minimum requirements for this position, candidates must demonstrate their experience in their narrative responses to the Professional Technical Qualifications (PTQs) questions and all narrative responses must be fully supported within their resume. *Applicants must use the USA Jobs text boxes to submit their narrative responses to the PTQs. Do not write "see resume" or "see attached documents". Each PTQ has a 10,000-character limit (to include spaces) that must be adhered to. Uploaded documents addressing the PTQs will not be accepted.
Experience must have been at a sufficiently high level of difficulty to clearly show that the candidate possesses the required professional/technical qualifications set forth below.
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Professional Technical Qualifications: Applicants must clearly demonstrate in their application materials that they possess technical attributes in the Professional/Technical Qualifications (PTQs).
Please provide your narrative responses to the Professional Technical Qualification (PTQs) questions - Do not write "see resume" or "see attached document". Uploaded documents addressing the PTQs will not be accepted.
Applicants are required to input narrative responses to the Professional Technical Qualifications (PTQs) in the text boxes as prompted by USAJobs. Each PTQ has a 10,000-character limit (to include spaces) that must be adhered to.
The Professional Technical Qualifications (PTQs) for this position are:
- Knowledge of trademark law, rules and procedures in appeals and inter partes cases at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, rules and procedures affecting trademark examination, and related policy issues.
- Ability to oversee and litigate federal court cases on behalf of the USPTO that involve trademark and/or copyright issues, including formulating legal strategies and preparing briefs.
- Ability to communicate, negotiate, and work effectively with representatives from other offices or agencies on trademark-related issues and to advocate for USPTO positions at all levels of engagement.
- Ability to lead a team of attorneys and other professionals who provide advice to agency clients about trademark and copyright law and oversee related litigation.
Education
The candidate must have a law degree from an accredited law school program and must be a member of a bar in good standing, in the United States or a Territory of the United States.
Benefits
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Review our benefits
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
In order to be considered In order to be considered for this position, you must (1) demonstrate in your application package that you meet the experience as defined under the "Qualifications" section, (2) answer the Professional Technical Qualifications (PTQs), (3) submit a detailed resume that supports your answers to the PTQs and specialized experience.
Your responses to the PTQs and resume will be evaluated by a Human Resources Specialist and/or a subject matter expert. Falsifying your background, education, and/or experience is cause for not hiring you or for changing your scored responses to questions you've answered, which may affect your overall final score.
Please note that a complete application is required for consideration. (Please review the "Required Documents" section of this job announcement to see what must be included in a complete application).
Required Documents
A complete application consists of the following Supporting Documents:
- A resume or any other written format you choose to describe your job-related qualifications:
Your resume should indicate your citizenship and should list your educational and work experience including job titles, salary, employment dates, duties and accomplishments, experience and how it relates to the PTQs in the job announcement. Please Note: Responses to PTQ job questions that are not fully supported by the information in your resume may result in adjustments to your rating.
- Narrative responses to the PTQs: Do not write "see resume". Applicants are required to input narrative responses in the textboxes as prompted by USAJobs. Each PTQ has a 10,000-character limit (to include spaces) and must be adhered to. Uploading documents addressing the PTQs will not be accepted.
- Transcript (s): You must submit copies of your law school transcripts for verification of the education requirements. Unofficial copies are acceptable, however, if selected you will be required to furnish official transcripts.
- Bar Membership Documentation: You must submit documentation showing that you are an active member of the Bar in Good Standing of any State, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or any Territorial Court under the U.S. Constitution.
NOTE: Submit only the documents requested. Additional documents will not be reviewed by the rating panel.
You can choose one of the following methods to submit Supporting Documents: 1) You can upload your documents when you register or update your information on the Department of Commerce application site which you access through the USAJobs site. OR 2) You can fax your documents to 571-258-4052 using the system generated fax cover sheet.
Your application and all required documentation must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on the closing date of this job announcement. Review your resume and responses carefully. Responses to job questions that are not fully supported by the information in your application package may result in adjustments to your rating. A Human Resources Representative will validate the qualifications of those candidates eligible to be referred to the hiring official.
How to Apply
******If you are currently, or have been within the last five years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information in your application.
You MUST apply online. If you experience difficulties with the application process or do not have access to a computer, please contact the HR Specialist listed as the point of contact before the closing date of this job announcement.
If you are a new user to the USAJobs Site and have never registered for an account; you will first need to create an account profile with your basic contact information and a resume to begin applying. You must be a registered USAJobs user AND you must be signed-in to your account in order to apply for this position. For help setting up an account or for general help using USAJobs, go to USAJobs Help Page. Once you have gathered all of the required information and are ready to begin the application process, click the "APPLY" button at the right side of the page. You will then be directed away from USAJobs to the Department of Commerce application site for USPTO. You must click "Submit" at the end of the application process to send your application for consideration.
To return to your saved application, log in to your USAJOBS account at http://www.usajobs.gov/ and click on "Applications." Click on the position title, then select "Update Application." If you experience any difficulties with the application site, help is available! OPM has a Help feature on each page. Use this option when you need assistance.
All required supporting documents will be collected electronically via the USAJobs "Saved Documents" feature.
Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is defined as information that can be traced back to a specific individual and potentially compromise their security or privacy. Examples of PII include: date of birth, Social Security Number, and place of birth.
Please ensure that you have removed all Personally Identifiable Information from all documents prior to submitting or uploading your applications material.
Next steps
Candidates are evaluated by an executive rating panel based on the degree to which they meet the PTQs, and which considers the applicant's education, work-related experience, training, awards, and professional recognition, as set forth in the materials submitted by the candidates and placed in one of the pre-defined quality categories. These categories are "Highly Qualified", "Well Qualified" and "Qualified." Candidates placed in the "highest quality category" will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be invited for an interview.
You will receive a notice generated by the USAJobs System when you have successfully submitted your application. You will be notified of your application status through USAJOBS at four points during the hiring process, as applicable.
The four points of notification are:
You will receive notification through USAJobs at each of the following points during the application process: (1) application received, (2) applicant assessed for qualifications, (3) applicant referred or not referred, and (4) applicant selected or not selected.
You can check the status of your application by accessing the USAJOBS website at http://usajobs.gov/ and clicking on "Track Your Online Application." You may also sign up to receive automatic emails anytime the status of your application has changed by logging in to your USAJobs account, editing your profile, and changing the "Notification Settings" to indicate that you want to be notified by email when the status changes. Information regarding the status of your application should be updated in the system within two weeks after the closing date of this job announcement.
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