What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior Counsel, Intellectual Property position at discord?
Discord is used by over 200 million people every month for many different reasons, but there’s one thing that nearly everyone does on our platform: play video games. Over 90% of our users play games, spending a combined 1.5 billion hours playing thousands of unique titles on Discord each month. Discord plays a uniquely important role in the future of gaming. We are focused on making it easier and more fun for people to talk and hang out before, during, and after playing games.
We are looking for an exceptional Senior Counsel, Intellectual Property to join our growing legal team. This is a high-impact role at one of the most interesting companies on the planet!
As our Senior IP Counsel, you will own and execute on IP portfolio strategy, including refining and adapting our trademark, copyright, and patent prosecution and enforcement strategy in support of the company’s strategy. In doing so, you will help our company expand across the world. You'll get to work with some super inspiring people, including our Engineering, Product, Sales, Marketing, Litigation, and Corp Dev teams. Reporting to our VP & Deputy General Counsel, you will have the opportunity to have a significant impact on how the Legal team and the company evolve.
If this sounds like a fun challenge, please read on...
What You’ll Be Doing
- Uplevel our IP program by refining priorities, mitigation strategies, and processes based on emerging products and risks
- Advise Product, Engineering, Sales and Marketing teams and provide creative, practical IP solutions across trademark, copyright, patent, and trade secret
- Advance Discord’s patent program with targeted strategies for key technology domains
- Collaborate with in-house and outside counsel and cross-functional partners on patent licensing, including hands-on drafting and negotiations
- Optimize global trademark enforcement and brand protection with Sales and Marketing input
- Provide clear, flexible IP guidance across Legal workstreams (Litigation, Product, Commercial, Marketing, Corporate)
- Manage our in-bound and out-bound open source program with Engineering management
- Create documentation, processes, and engaging trainings to scale IP education and compliance
- Streamline resources through effective counsel management, strategic AI use, and cross-industry engagements
What You Should Have
- JD from an accredited law school
- Admission to the California Bar or eligible to register as in-house counsel with the California Bar
- 8 years combined experience at a well-respected law firm and in-house legal department
- Strategic mindset that balances proactive protection with pragmatic risk management within resource constraints
- Proven ability to translate complex IP concepts into concise, actionable advice for engineering teams and cross-functional executive leadership
- Expertise in patent strategy, prosecution, and licensing negotiations
- Hands-on experience managing trademark prosecution and global brand enforcement for consumer-facing digital platforms
- Experience advising on software licensing, open source compliance, and copyright issues
- Proven ability to develop and mentor legal professionals with various levels of experience
- Curiosity and ability to jump into less familiar areas and learn while doing
Bonus Points
- In-house legal department experience with a consumer-oriented tech company
- Familiarity with video and audio technologies, particularly video codecs
- Strong interest in effectively applying AI to IP enforcement
- Experience reviewing marketing assets and commercial license terms for IP issues
- Experience with music licensing transactions
- Appreciation for absurd and improbable hypotheticals
The US base salary range for this full-time position is $304,000 to $342,000 equity benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role and level. Within the range, individual pay is determined by additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only, and do not include equity, or benefits.
Why Discord?
Discord plays a uniquely important role in the future of gaming. We're a multiplatform, multigenerational and multiplayer platform that helps people deepen their friendships around games and shared interests. We believe games give us a way to have fun with our favorite people, whether listening to music together or grinding in competitive matches for diamond rank. Join us in our mission! Your future is just a click away!
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