Location: Georgia - Atlanta

Employment Type: Salaried

Team: Business Affairs & Legal

Company Overview

Fanatics is building a leading global digital sports platform to ignite and harness the passions of fans and maximize the presence and reach for hundreds of partners globally. Optimizing these long-standing partnerships, a database of more than 80 million global consumers and a trusted, recognizable brand name, Fanatics is expanding beyond its position as a global leader for licensed sports merchandise to now becoming a next-gen digital sports platform, featuring an array of offerings for fans across the sports ecosystem.

The Fanatics family of companies currently includes Fanatics Commerce, a vertically-integrated licensed merchandise business that has changed the way fans purchase their favorite team apparel, jerseys, headwear and hardgoods through a tech-infused approach to making and quickly distributing fan gear in today’s 24/7 mobile-first economy; Candy Digital, a digital collectibles company that is partnering with prominent sports properties, including MLB and MLBPA, to build an official NFT ecosystem; Fanatics Collectibles, through Topps as a cornerstone of the business, building a new model for the collectibles and trading cards hobby with top leagues and players association partners; and Fanatics Betting & Gaming, a mobile betting, gaming and retail sportsbook platform. Fanatics’ partners include all major professional sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, MLS, PGA) and hundreds of collegiate and professional teams, which include several of the biggest global soccer clubs.

As a market leader with more than 9,000 employees, and hundreds of partners, suppliers, and vendors worldwide, we take responsibility for driving toward more ethical and sustainable practices. We are committed to building an inclusive Fanatics community, reflecting and representing society at every level of the business, including our employees, vendors, partners and fans. Fanatics is also dedicated to making a positive impact in the communities where we all live, work, and play through strategic philanthropic initiatives.

At Fanatics, we’re a diverse, passionate group of employees aiming to ignite pride and passion in the fans we outfit, celebrate and support. We recognize that diversity helps drive and foster innovation, and through our IDEA program (inclusion, diversity, equality and advocacy) at Fanatics we provide employees with tools and resources to feel connected and engaged in who they are and what they do to support the ultimate fan experience.

www.fanaticsinc.com

Fanatics is seeking an attorney to assume the role of Senior IP Counsel. Reporting to the Company’s Vice President - Legal Affairs & Brand Protection and housed in Fanatics’ Commerce division (but with responsibilities across the Company’s other verticals), the Senior IP Counsel will serve as a strategic partner who must be able to succeed in handling a multitude of legal matters, including, but not limited to, managing intellectual property portfolios (with a focus on trademarks), trademark clearance, anti- counterfeiting and IP enforcement, IP-related disputes (including litigation), domain name matters, license agreements and other contracts, and general IP guidance and strategic advice. As noted below, to be successful in this role you must be an experienced IP attorney who is a self-starter, not afraid to ask questions, enthusiastic about the intersection of IP and business, and able to multi-task/handle various projects at once while effectively prioritizing.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a trusted colleague and creative problem-solver when it comes to various IP-related matters working alongside the VP - Legal Affairs & Brand Protection.
• Collaborate with the VP - Legal Affairs & Brand Protection and the rest of the Global Legal Team to provide legal advice to the executives and senior business leaders across the organization, including engagement in proactive issue-spotting, risk assessment and problem-solving.
• Involved with management and strategic guidance related to the company’s global IP portfolio (across all verticals), including communications with the applicable business units to arrive at sound portfolio strategy.
• Facilitate trademark clearance searches and provide appropriate legal guidance to applicable business units.
• Effectively collaborate and communicate both internally and externally regarding anti-counterfeiting and other IP enforcement matters. Review and evaluate potential enforcement matters and provide sound guidance on merits and strategy.
• Involved with management of various third-party IP-related disputes, including litigation.
• Provide support on IP-related matters pertaining to M&A activity.
• Provide strategic guidance on domain name portfolio and domain name disputes.
• Negotiate and structure trademark license agreements and other contracts.
• Provide sound general IP-related advice across the organization.
• Interpret and advise with respect to rights and obligations under Fanatics' agreements.
• Collaborate with other members of the Global Legal Team, including with respect to issues requiring subject matter expertise, and oversee/leverage outside counsel, as needed.

Education/Experience Requirements:

• JD from an ABA-accredited law school and licensed to practice in at least one US jurisdiction
• Minimum 8 years of IP experience, ideally with a law firm
• In-house experience a plus, but not required
• Litigation experience a plus, but not required
• Patent experience a plus, but not required
• Be a self-starter with strong work ethic capable of taking ownership of projects/matters
• Possess a strong desire to assume a wide variety of responsibilities, be flexible and grow with the Company
• Have excellent organizational, communication and analytical skills
• Strong attention to detail and highly organized
• Possess the ability to work on several projects at once while balancing competing objectives
• Produce high-quality work product in a timely manner to meet demands of the Company
• Be confident and have strong interpersonal skills
• Work well both independently and as a team player
• Be a creative thinker who can initiate and develop alternative approaches to complex issues
• Possess a strong sense of integrity

Things We Care About

· Your career growth, your ideas, your work-life balance, and your well-being.

· Diversity and Inclusion

· Our Company Culture and Values

· Providing outstanding Company Perks and Benefits

Ensure your Fanatics job offer is legitimate and don’t fall victim to fraud. Fanatics never seeks payment from job applicants. Fanatics recruiters will only reach out to applicants from an @fanatics.com or @fanatics.co.uk email address. For added security, where possible, apply through our company website at www.fanaticsinc.com/careers

Tryouts are open at Fanatics! Our team is passionate, talented, unified, and charged with creating the fan experience of tomorrow. The ball is in your court now.

Fanatics is committed to responsible planning and purchasing (RPP) practices, working with its business partners across its global and multi-layered supply chain, to ensure that planning, sourcing, and purchasing decisions, along with other supporting processes, do not impede or conflict with the fulfillment of Fanatics’ fair labor practices.

NOTICE TO CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS/APPLICANTS : In connection with your application, we collect information that identifies, reasonably relates to or describes you (“Personal Information”). The categories of Personal Information that we collect include your name, government issued identification number(s), email address, mailing address, other contact information, emergency contact information, employment history, educational history, criminal record, and demographic information. _ _ We collect and use those categories of Personal Information about you for human resources and other business management purposes, including identifying and evaluating you as a candidate for potential or future employment or future contract positions, recordkeeping in relation to recruiting and hiring, conducting criminal background checks as permitted by law, conducting analytics, and ensuring compliance with applicable legal requirements and Company policies.