Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Analyst position at PIPRA

PIPRA is searching for an IP Analyst to work on biofuels and crop regulation at our offices in Davis, CA. The position is described below.

The Public Intellectual Property Resource for Agriculture (PIPRA) is a grant-supported program that coordinates agricultural intellectual property (IP) management across 50 member institutions to enable research projects that address specialty crops and/or humanitarian projects in developing countries. PIPRA manages a comprehensive patent database comprising intellectual property from all member institutions, creates and delivers educational programs to support intellectual property management capacity building in developing countries, conducts legal research to assess the freedom to operate around specific patented agricultural technologies and implements collaborative strategies to manage pools of intellectual property belonging to multiple institutional owners.

There are four functional units within PIPRA: IP Information Services and Analysis, Education and Outreach, Biotechnology Resources, and Intellectual Property management. This position (IP Analyst) falls within the IP Information Services and Analysis unit, and was created to provide analytical services in support of legal research on various projects undertaken by this unit. Under the direction of the unit director, this position independently works with internal staff and external organizations to ensure that PIPRA fulfills all requested contractual services in a timely manner and provides quality analytical data.
The analyst will participate in the following projects:

  • assess the biofuel IP landscape associated with the use of lignocellulosic biomass.
  • provide analytical support for legal IP freedom-to-operate opinions of specific technologies.
  • review the US and international biosafety regulatory process as it relates to specialty crops.

Analyses to be conducted will typically require cross-disciplinary awareness of law, science, public policy, and information technology. The analyst will independently set priorities, milestones, and presents deliverables in written and/or oral format .

Time: 40 hours per week
Ideal candidates will meet the following criteria:

Education: University degree is required- a degree in biological sciences, plant biotechnology, biochemistry, or related field is strongly preferred. Patent agent certification or understanding of legal IP issues is highly desired but NOT required. Understanding or interest in learning about legal IP and regulatory issues is required.

Skills:

  • Demonstrated experience in project management and research, especially as it relates to IP law, science, or policy.
  • Demonstrated ability to work independently.
  • Ability to professionally interact with representatives of external organizations to fulfill requests and provide support.
  • Ability to design and supervise implementation of a variety of projects related to IP management.
  • Demonstrated experience in oral and written communications with a broad section of professionals in the legal, academic, and business communities.
  • Ability to support development of institutional strategies addressing complex issues involving IP law or policy.
  • Demonstrated skills in assessing priorities and strong organizational skills to effectively work on multiple projects simultaneously.
  • Demonstrated skill in data management and analysis.
  • Familiarity or ability to learn about, IP, scientific literature, and other pertinent databases.
  • Excellent writing and speaking skills.
  • Ability to work effectively individually and as part of a team.
  • Professional skills, judgment and diplomacy to achieve successful outcomes in sensitive or difficult interactions.
  • Computer skills in spreadsheets

This position offers a competitive salary determined by the successful candidate's experience and full health benefits. Please send a statement describing your interests, detailed curriculum vitae, and 2-3 letters of references via email to Kathleen Bess, klbess@ucdavis.edu. Review of applications will start August 15th, 2008 and continue until the position is filled.

The University of California, Davis is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Michael Heller's Gridlock Economy

PIPRA is prominently featured in Michael Heller's new book Gridlock Economy. It is a very interesting and readable explanation of the anticommons. Highly recommended.