Director, Counsel Trademarks

Job Description Summary:

The Director, Legal Counsel - Trademarks serves as a strategic business partner responsible for protecting, growing, and enabling the Company’s trademark and brand assets across assigned markets. This role provides legal leadership on trademark strategy, brand development, innovation initiatives, portfolio management, brand protection, and related intellectual property matters, including copyright issues that may arise in connection with branding, marketing, creative content, and innovation initiatives, while partnering closely with marketing, innovation, operating unit legal teams, and global stakeholders.

The position oversees the full trademark lifecycle, including clearance, filing, prosecution, maintenance, enforcement, and portfolio optimization, ensuring that trademark strategies align with business objectives and brand growth priorities. The Director also advises on brand architecture, visual identity, naming strategies, product innovation, claims support, licensing matters, copyright-related considerations, and risk management.

As a trusted advisor to the business, the successful candidate will balance legal risk with commercial objectives, enabling creative and innovative marketing initiatives while safeguarding the integrity of the Company’s brands and other relevant intellectual property assets. The role requires strong cross-functional collaboration, management of outside counsel across multiple jurisdictions, and the ability to lead complex trademark matters within a global environment.

The ideal candidate is an experienced trademark attorney with strong business acumen, excellent stakeholder management skills, international trademark expertise, a working knowledge of copyright principles, and a demonstrated ability to operate independently while influencing diverse teams across markets and functions.

The Director, Legal Counsel - Trademarks serves as a strategic business partner responsible for protecting, growing, and enabling the Company’s trademark and brand assets across assigned markets. This role provides legal leadership on trademark strategy, brand development, innovation initiatives, portfolio management, brand protection, and related intellectual property matters, including copyright issues that may arise in connection with branding, marketing, creative content, and innovation initiatives, while partnering closely with marketing, innovation, operating unit legal teams, and global stakeholders.

The position oversees the full trademark lifecycle, including clearance, filing, prosecution, maintenance, enforcement, and portfolio optimization, ensuring that trademark strategies align with business objectives and brand growth priorities. The Director also advises on brand architecture, visual identity, naming strategies, product innovation, claims support, licensing matters, copyright-related considerations, and risk management.

As a trusted advisor to the business, the successful candidate will balance legal risk with commercial objectives, enabling creative and innovative marketing initiatives while safeguarding the integrity of the Company’s brands and other relevant intellectual property assets. The role requires strong cross-functional collaboration, management of outside counsel across multiple jurisdictions, and the ability to lead complex trademark matters within a global environment.

The ideal candidate is an experienced trademark attorney with strong business acumen, excellent stakeholder management skills, international trademark expertise, a working knowledge of copyright principles, and a demonstrated ability to operate independently while influencing diverse teams across markets and functions.

Trademark Strategy, Clearance & Prosecution

• Lead trademark searches, clearance, filing strategies, and prosecution across assigned regions.

• Advise on brand creation, naming, packaging, and innovationinitiatives.

• Develop filing strategies aligned with business priorities and riskprofiles.

• Oversee lifecycle management of trademarks from application through registration andmaintenance.

Brand Counseling, Visual Identity & PortfolioStewardship

• Serve as primary legal advisor on brand identity, visual identity standards, and brand governance for local and regional brands.

• Review and support product and brand charters to ensure trademark integrity and alignment with globalstandards.

• Provide counseling on brand architecture, extensions, and portfoliooptimization.

• Partner with global legal marketing, operating unit counsels, and marketing teams to enable creative excellence while managing trademark risk.

Product Innovation & ClaimsSupport

• Support product innovation initiatives in collaboration with local Operating Unit counsels and Food Lawcounsels.

• Review product concepts, brand positioning, and product claims from a trademark and brand integrityperspective.

• Advise on innovation pipelines, launch readiness, and namingstrategies.

• Provide integrated legal guidance across trademarks, branding, andclaims.

Brand Protection, Enforcement & RiskManagement

• Protect Company trademarks through enforcement actions and dilution avoidancestrategies.

• Manage opposition, cancellation, and infringementmatters.

• Monitor the beverage and competitive landscape from a trademark and innovationperspective.

• Partner with IP Operations on watch notices, renewals and portfoliooptimization.

Business Counseling & CommercialSupport

• Provide counseling on IP ownership, licensing, due diligence and opinionmatters.

• Support regional marketing teams on advertising and promotionalcampaigns.

• Act as trusted advisor to business stakeholders on trademark, brand, and innovation risks andopportunities.

Outside Counsel & PartnerManagement

• Manage and direct outside counsel acrossjurisdictions.

• Provide strategic guidance and monitor quality and cost-effectiveness.

• Approve fee statements and managebudgets.

Stakeholder Engagement & GlobalCollaboration

• Build strong relationships with intellectual property offices, regulators and professionalassociations.

• Collaborate with global trademark colleagues, IP Operations, marketing, innovation, Operating Unit legal teams, Tax, and Food Law counsel.

• Support enterprise-wide trademark, brand and innovation governanceinitiatives.

Information Protection &Compliance

• Ensure protection of confidential information shared with thirdparties.

• Maintain compliance with internal policies and externalregulations.

Basic Requirements:

• English language – fluent

• Law degree

• 8+ years of trademark-focused legal experience, including international portfolio management with preferably no less than 3 years law firm experience

• Strong knowledge of global trademark practice andprocedures.

• Experience supporting product innovation and brand counselingpreferred.

• Law firm and in-house experiencepreferred.

• Knowledge of copyright.

• Experience supporting global brands and marketingorganizations.

• Excellent written and verbal communicationskills.

• Strong stakeholder management and commercialjudgment.

• Ability to operate independently and manage complex matters acrossjurisdictions.

Skills:

Location(s):

City/Cities:

Travel Required:

Relocation Provided:

Job Posting End Date:

Our Purpose and Growth Culture:

We are taking deliberate action to nurture an inclusive culture that is grounded in our company purpose, to refresh the world and make a difference. We act with a growth mindset, take an expansive approach to what’s possible and believe in continuous learning to improve our business and ourselves. We focus on four key behaviors – curious, empowered, inclusive and agile – and value how we work as much as what we achieve. We believe that our culture is one of the reasonsour company continues to thrive after 130+ years. VisitOur Purpose and Vision to learn more about these behaviors and how youcan bring them to life in your next role at Coca-Cola.