In-house IP Patent Attorney

Verisign’s Law Department is seeking an attorney to support a variety of intellectual property related functions, with a focus on patent development and prosecution, open source licensing, IP, technology, and AI counseling to our business and other attorneys.

Our ideal candidate for this role is an experienced attorney who is a team player and can support a variety of legal functions including all aspects of legal support related to technology.  The candidate must be comfortable advising on a variety of technology and intellectual property matters, and should have experience managing and advising clients with respect to patent portfolios; standards; IP licensing issues (including open source); IP transactions; and AI technology. The ideal candidate will have a high aptitude for understanding complex technology and software, and must be able to distill those complexities into clear and concise written and oral legal advice. The candidate must be willing and able to collaborate with technologists and management, analyze patents, and, at times, craft patent claims and intellectual property rights contract provisions to support the Company’s business and technology strategies.

Role and Responsibilities:

• Support the Company’s patent strategy under the supervision of the Senior Director by coordinating with the Company’s technology functions, managing outside counsel to prepare and file patent applications, leading patent prosecution, and managing the patent rewards program
• Assist with reviewing and providing advice on open source licenses including license compliance strategies
• Provide legal advice to internal stakeholders on engagement with standards setting organizations and on standards essential patent claims
• Monitor changes to the legal landscape related to AI and provide legal review and advice on the procurement and development of AI technologies and regulations
• Assist with drafting and negotiating IP provisions of complex commercial agreements in a range of commercial and regulatory contexts, including registry and technology service agreements
• Ensure members of the Law Department are apprised of material developments within your areas of responsibility on a timely basis

Requirements for the role:

• Team player. Enjoys working as part of a highly collaborative team, with the ability to drive projects to completion, identify and resolve issues quickly and efficiently, provide practical and actionable legal advice, and earn the trust, confidence and cooperation of business leaders and legal colleagues
• High aptitude and curiosity to quickly gather sufficient information to understand complex technologies, and the flexibility to learn new legal and technological areas
• Ability to collaborate effectively with a diverse group of stakeholders, including employees in the Law Department and at all levels in the Company, inventors, outside counsel, vendors, and third parties
• Superior writing skills that demonstrate a mastery of the legal and factual issues organized in a coherent, crisp and concise manner, acute attention to detail, and 100% receptive to consistent feedback and guidance from other attorneys on written work product
• 7+ years of legal experience with significant experience in patent preparation and prosecution, including handling patent portfolios
• Experience with open source licenses and technology transactions
• Experience advising on AI and familiarity with the evolving AI legal landscape
• Experience with technology transactions, contract drafting, and negotiation
• J.D. from an accredited law school; if not admitted to Virginia bar, must be eligible for admission in Virginia as Virginia Corporate Counsel
• Registered patent attorney

Preferences for the role:

In addition to the requirements listed above, the following qualifications are desired but not required:

• Experience with network and internet infrastructure-related technologies highly preferred
• Experience with patent litigation support, opinions / freedom to operate, and IP due diligence
• Familiarity with legal issues and licensing activities related to standards setting organizations and related IPR obligations
• Prior in-house experience
• Experience with patent management platforms, such as Anaqua AQX or Lecorpio

This position is based in our Reston, VA office and offers a hybrid work schedule.

The pay range is $180,700 - $244,500. 

The anticipated annual base salary range for this position is noted above, however, base pay offered may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience. Verisign offers a discretionary bonus which is based on individual and company performance, and certain roles may be eligible for discretionary stock awards.