At Stamicarbon, the innovation and license company of MAIRE Group, we develop, design and license futureproof, innovative fertilizer plant technologies, with urea, green ammonia and nitric acid being our core businesses. Using more than 75 years of knowledge and experience, we offer our customers customized solutions and services to maintain, improve and optimize plants, such as process engineering, proprietary equipment, and full life cycle plant support. We take pride in being innovative and developing reliable, safe and sustainable fertilizer solutions.
From our headquarters in Sittard in the south of the Netherlands, we serve several hundred customers in more than 80 countries, with a proven track record of more than 1.000 sold licenses.

The Intellectual Property department is organized within the Innovation Center group of the Stamicarbon organization, the Business Development group and IP center for the MAIRE Group. The Innovation Center is responsible for evaluating new ideas and developing them and bringing them to market as new innovative products and processes using the Innovation Pipe Line System. The IP department is responsible for protecting Stamicarbon’s innovations, in particular by creating registered IP such as patents.

We are looking for a Patent Counsel

You are part of the internal IP team of Stamicarbon and responsible for interacting with internal and external clients to answer all their IP questions. Your main tasks will be the harvesting and protection of new inventions as well as, in cooperation with outside counsel, ensuring the drafting, filing and prosecution up to the grant of a patent. You will also contribute to formulating the IP strategy and in particular the patent strategy for new innovation projects and provide freedom to operate opinions on new technologies before introduction to the market.

In the course of the above you will also occasionally be carrying out various Intellectual Property searches such as novelty, Freedom of Operation, invalidity, and opposition searches using various specialized patent and non-patent databases.

Responsibilities:
• Advise colleagues regarding patent legal issues;
• Invention harvesting (interaction with inventors): Assist Research & Technology colleagues in identifying potentially patentable inventions;
• Make in depth study of the technology in order to understand the invention;
• Patentability Search: Define scope of search based on preliminary definition of invention in communication with inventors.
• Prepare draft claims and outline of the invention for outside counsel based on definition of invention in light of the prior art;
• Assist inventors (and R&D) with every aspect of the patent process. Support inventors to prepare invention disclosures. Learn about the invention, then research other similar inventions and discuss the concept with other inventors to determine if there is any similarity to another invention that might prevent a patent from being issued;
• Interact with inventor/outside counsel to review & finalize draft patent application;
• During prosecution of patent application interact with inventors, business and outside counsel to ensure best available protection;
• Coordinate and assist outside counsel in Oppositions and Litigation;
• Support Freedom to Operate searches and give Freedom to Operate opinions as well as provide guidance to internal clients regarding Freedom to Operate.

• You are a qualified European or US Patent attorney;
• You have Technical Master Degree in science or engineering (Chemical Engineering preferred);
• You are Pro-active and team oriented;
• You have a thorough technical background combined with strong analytical skills and well developed sense for details and priorities;
• Knowledge of and experience with one or more of Stamicarbon’s technologies, such as urea melt process, fluid bed granulation process, emission abatement technologies, nitric acid technology and ammonia technology is preferred;
• Understanding of Patent IP administrative processes in general, including formalities concerned with National, International and Regional filings including European Grant Procedure Patent laws;
• Excellent communication skills;
• An excellent command of the English language is essential.

Stamicarbon offers a rewarding and challenging job with opportunities for personal input. The organization is 100% internationally focused, has the ambition to expand and offers individual possibilities to learn and develop in a true business environment. There is an open and very pleasant atmosphere with plenty of room for discussion with highly committed fellow professionals and a good sense of humor. Terms and conditions of employment as well as fringe benefits are above market standards. Stamicarbon’s Head office is located in Sittard, Limburg, The Netherlands. For further information about this position, please contact us via recruitment@stamicarbon.com.