IP Counsel, Life Sciences Patents

The shape of it

In the posting’s own words

AI has the power to dramatically accelerate the pace of scientific discovery and the development of healthcare interventions. Alongside the models and tools we build for scientists, Anthropic’s life science research teams now run their own wet lab experiments. We’re hiring a life sciences patent counsel to work side-by-side with our researchers as they work to advance biomedical progress.

What it asks for · 8

• Hold a law degree (JD, LLB, or equivalent) and meet the local licensing requirements to work as in-house counsel where you'll be based
• A degree or equivalent training in a life sciences or chemistry field (for example, molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, bioengineering, or organic chemistry)
• Substantial hands-on experience drafting and prosecuting U.S. life sciences patent applications, and directing foreign prosecution through local counsel
• Lead responsibility for a patent portfolio, including managing budget and outside or foreign counsel
• Experience making inventorship determinations and resolving ownership questions in multi-party research arrangements (for example, with universities and other partners)
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to translate legal risk into practical guidance for scientists, researchers, and business partners
• A low-ego, high-empathy orientation and a “doer” attitude: willing to roll up your sleeves and pitch in where needed
• Intense curiosity about AI and science, and a commitment to responsible AI development

Also a plus

• 10+ years of patent experience (including time as a patent agent, technical specialist, or examiner) at a law firm, a biotech or pharmaceutical company, or both, with the ability to operate independently and hit the ground running
• Advanced degree in a life sciences or chemistry field
• Experience with AI/ML companies, or with inventions at the boundary of biology and machine learning
• Working knowledge of how patents interact with regulatory exclusivity, trade secrets, and open science
• Familiarity with biosecurity, dual-use research, or export control considerations in the life sciences
• Experience leveraging AI to optimize their work, with a desire to work in a fast-paced, innovative environment

What the job covers

• Manage patent strategy and filings for Anthropic’s life sciences research in the U.S. and internationally, including invention harvesting, filing decisions, drafting oversight, prosecution, and management of outside counsel
• Serve as the trusted patent advisor to our life science research teams, and design and implement scalable guidance and processes to support our fast-growing life science efforts
• Make inventorship determinations for AI-assisted research, and advise on inventor declarations and the duty of candor
• Develop claim and filing strategies across biological and chemical inventions, platform technologies, and computational methods, accounting for written description, enablement, eligibility, and obviousness
• Partner with Research Legal and Communications on the timing of publications, preprints, presentations, and open-source releases
• Advise on the patent aspects of agreements with life science and biopharma counterparties, including ownership of inventions and improvements, and support patent diligence and freedom-to-operate analyses for our research
• Anticipate emerging legal developments affecting AI technologies in the life science and biopharma space and provide strategic guidance to leadership

Degree language

• Hold a law degree (JD, LLB, or equivalent) and meet the local licensing requirements to work as in-house counsel where you'll be based
• A degree or equivalent training in a life sciences or chemistry field (for example, molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, bioengineering, or organic chemistry)

Tools and skills named

Words the posting leans on

• sciences15×
• patent14×
• research11×
• life sciences8×
• counsel7×
• experience5×
• life science5×
• partners5×
• filing4×
• inventions4×
• legal4×
• scientists4×
• degree3×
• development3×
• guidance3×
• prosecution3×

Counted from the posting after the mission statement and the legal notices are set aside. The ones near the top are the ones a screener is looking for.

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