IP Associate

About the role

The IP Associate role focuses on technical fulfilment and registry operations for intellectual property matters, with primary focus on trademarks. This is a replacement position in the Procedural Department, reporting to the Managing Director. The role is evolving towards AI-assisted execution with human verification, technical judgement, exception management, quality assurance, risk identification, knowledge creation and continuous process improvement.

Key responsibilities

• Perform technical fulfilment and registry operations for intellectual property matters, with primary focus on trademarks.

• Prepare and review trademark specifications, classifications, applicant information and filing documents.

• Conduct trademark searches, registrability assessments and support the preparation and quality review of Brand Reports.

• Prepare and file trademark applications, renewals, assignments, recordals and other procedural matters.

• Monitor MyIPO and other relevant registry updates, retrieve official correspondence and verify all technical information before internal handover.

• Review filing receipts, registration documents, office actions, provisional refusals and other registry correspondence for accuracy and required action.

• Handle technical correspondence with MyIPO, WIPO and foreign associates, including filing instructions, specifications, applicant details, POA requirements and procedural clarifications.

• Maintain accurate technical records, documents, deadlines, statuses, next actions and ownership information in internal systems.

• Use approved AI-assisted tools to support suitable work such as preliminary trademark research, information extraction, document comparison, specification review, first-draft technical notes, knowledge retrieval and other structured procedural tasks.

About you

• Bachelor's Degree in Law, Intellectual Property, Business or a related discipline preferred.
• Prior Intellectual Property / trademark experience strongly preferred. Candidates with experience in trademark prosecution, MyIPO filings, registry work or IP legal support will have an advantage.
• Strong written English and ability to understand and communicate in English and Bahasa Malaysia. Mandarin or Cantonese is an advantage.
• Excellent attention to detail and ability to identify errors in names, specifications, classifications, deadlines, filing documents and registry records.
• Strong research, analytical and critical-thinking skills; able to understand procedural requirements and identify the implications of registry updates.
• Strong ownership and accountability. Must be able to manage deadline-sensitive matters without constant reminders.
• Comfortable working with structured SOPs, checklists, IPM,CRM systems, Microsoft Office and AI-assisted tools.
• Able to manage multiple technical matters simultaneously while maintaining accuracy and turnaround standards.
• Strong learning agility and genuine interest in developing deep technical expertise in intellectual property.
• Comfortable working independently in a hybrid environment and escalating issues appropriately rather than making unsupported assumptions.

Benefits

• Career progression
• Technical training
• IP seminars and conferences
• AI Training and exposure