Patent Counsel - Audio

Dolby Laboratories, Inc. • Burlingame, CA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

Join the leader in entertainment innovation and help us design the future. At Dolby, science meets art, and high tech means more than computer code. As a member of the Dolby team, you’ll see and hear the results of your work everywhere, from movie theaters to smartphones. We continue to revolutionize how people create, deliver, and enjoy entertainment worldwide. To do that, we need the absolute best talent. We’re big enough to give you all the resources you need, and small enough so you can make a real difference and earn recognition for your work. We offer a collegial culture, challenging projects, and excellent compensation and benefits.

For this high functioning team, the nature of the work benefits from frequent in-office presence, and employees may be expected to work from a company office up to four days per week. While we remain committed to flexibility, this team’s rhythm includes regular in-person connection to support collaboration, learning, and impact.

The Legal
Department provides core legal support to all Dolby functions, runs several IP-centric businesses, and leads government relations.
The successful candidate will be a patent attorney or patent agent responsible for supporting active research, development, standardization, and licensing programs related to Dolby audio technologies. The position includes a variety of responsibilities such as performing and managing patent prosecution, analyzing third‑party patents and standards documents, capturing invention disclosures, and conducting due diligence related to potential acquisitions. In this role within Dolby’s audio patent group, the candidate will be directly responsible for the prosecution of a worldwide portfolio of patents and patent applications related to audio technologies. This patent counsel position reports to the head of the audio patent group.

Requirements

• B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related field
• Admission to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
• Minimum of 2–4 years of experience as a patent attorney or agent in a top‑tier law firm
• Experience managing worldwide patent families and familiarity with global prosecution strategies

Nice To Haves

• J.D. from a top‑tier law school and admission to practice in at least one U.S. state
• M.S. in Electrical Engineering with an emphasis on communications or digital signal processing, or equivalent professional experience
• Strong familiarity with communication systems, audio and video compression, standards (e.g., MPEG, 3GPP), and standard‑essential patents
• Experience working in‑house as a patent attorney or patent agent
• Experience with intellectual property licensing and litigation
• Experience working with standards bodies and patent pools

Responsibilities

• Align a growing, worldwide patent portfolio with evolving business needs, including the capture and review of invention disclosures and the preparation of recommendations for the invention review committee.
• Manage domestic and foreign outside counsel in the preparation and prosecution of patent applications.
• Draft and prosecute patent applications that are of particular importance to Dolby’s business.
• Advise on the acquisition, development, and commercialization of third‑party technologies and related intellectual property matters.
• Advise on third‑party patent claims involving products and technologies.
• Support patent licensing and enforcement activities.
• Provide information and training to internal groups as required regarding patent protection procedures and programs.
• Provide additional patent, licensing, and intellectual property support as assigned.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees