Steve Beale

Senior Trade Mark Counsel @Unilever

London, GB

A wide and challenging role encompassing practice in non-contentious and contentious trade mark issues and related intellectual property rights, including substantial portfolio management responsibilities. Unilever has one of the largest trade mark portfolios with in excess of 120k active trade marks. • Business partnering support to a number of well-known Unilever brands, including searching and clearance activity and related risk management advice; prosecution and licensing management. Responsibility for recent notable case: Iron & Smith v Unilever (Case C-125/14, September 3 2015).• Co-ordination and hands-on action against infringers who unlawfully leverage Unilever\'s brands, including trade mark oppositions and cancellation actions, infringements, including lookalikes, anti-counterfeiting actions and parallel import issues.• Portfolio and outsourcing management - Lead responsibility for the day-to-day aspects of Unilever outsourced trade mark portfolio management relationships: monitoring of current performance against agreed standards and implementing performance improvement where required; development and future resource planning; managing relationships with the international network of external legal providers that underpin the lead co-ordination partnership.• Finance and budget management, including internal budgeting and reporting and negotiation of commercial aspects of trade mark supplier agreements.• Strategic responsibility in area of lookalikes and general IP external engagement planning – a member of a cross-functional team responsible for creating and delivering global strategy and process. Direct input on behalf of my company into the UK IPO report – The Impact of Lookalikes – see Current INTA committee role - Harmonization of Trade Mark & Practice Committee: member of the committee leadership team and chair of the International Co-Operation Developments sub-committee

Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys

UK Registered Trade Mark Attorney

Massey University

Bachelor of Business Studies (BBS) - New Zealand