Richemont Intellectual Property Counsel
- Location
- BellevueWashingtonUSA
- Seniority
- Senior
- Department
- Legal & Compliance
- Industry
- Fine Watches & Horology
- Posted
- May 1, 2026
About Richemont
Richemont is a Swiss-based luxury goods holding company that manages a portfolio of prestigious maisons across jewellery, watches and luxury accessories, including Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and several distinguished watchmakers. The group operates internationally and places strong emphasis on brand heritage, craftsmanship and long-term value creation for premium maisons.
Richemont seeks an Intellectual Property Counsel in Bellevue, USA to lead IP strategy, enforcement and licensing for its luxury maisons.
Role & Responsibilities
- Manage and develop the global intellectual property portfolio (trademarks, designs, patents and domain names) for Richemont and assigned maisons.
- Draft, negotiate and advise on licensing, coexistence, commercial and distribution agreements with IP-related clauses.
- Lead enforcement and anti-counterfeiting strategy: coordinate investigations, takedowns, customs seizures and civil/criminal proceedings; oversee UDRP and domain disputes.
- Provide clearance opinions, freedom-to-operate assessments and risk analyses in support of product launches and marketing campaigns.
- Manage outside counsel worldwide; supervise litigation strategy, budgets and progress reporting.
- Advise business teams (marketing, product, e‑commerce, retail) on trademark use, branding, advertising compliance and IP-related policies.
- Develop and deliver internal IP training and best-practice guidance to preserve brand distinctiveness and reduce infringement risk.
- Contribute to corporate IP policy, portfolio optimization, prosecution strategy and budget planning.
Qualifications
- Law degree (JD, LLB or equivalent) with admission to practice in a relevant jurisdiction.
- Proven track record in intellectual property law: trademark prosecution, enforcement and litigation experience.
- Experience drafting and negotiating licensing and commercial agreements with IP provisions.
- Demonstrable experience managing outside counsel and multi-jurisdictional disputes.
- Excellent legal drafting, oral advocacy and commercial advisory skills; ability to distil complex IP issues for senior business stakeholders.
Skills
Experience
Typically 5+ years of focused IP experience in private practice or in-house, ideally with exposure to luxury, fashion, watches or consumer goods; demonstrable handling of multi-jurisdictional enforcement and prosecution matters.
Education
Law degree (JD, LLB or equivalent); admission to practise in at least one relevant jurisdiction (state bar or national equivalent).
Workplace
The successful candidate will be located in Bellevue, Washington, USA, with easy access to Seattle.
Culture
Richemont cultivates a collaborative, craftsmanship-driven culture that values heritage, quality and meticulous attention to brand integrity. Legal teams operate in an international, cross-disciplinary environment supporting multiple maisons and are expected to combine commercial pragmatism with rigorous legal standards.
About Cerulean
Cerulean is the definitive career portal for the global luxury industry. We match exceptional professionals with exclusive opportunities at the world's most prestigious brands. From haute couture and fine watchmaking to prestige beauty, hospitality, and boutique retail, Cerulean centralises luxury employment to help you find the career for which you were destined.
Frequently Asked Questions
The luxury industry is characterised by a diverse and nuanced nomenclature. Esteemed houses frequently employ proprietary terminology, and even within a single organisation like Richemont, titles may vary across global markets to reflect local conventions. To ensure absolute clarity, Cerulean assigns a standardised, industry-coherent canonical title to every listing. However, it is worth noting that this role is functionally synonymous with «IP Counsel», «Intellectual Property Attorney», «Senior IP Counsel», «IP Legal Counsel», and other variations. Our sophisticated search architecture anticipates these variations, ensuring that inquiries using related terms will seamlessly yield the exact roles you desire.