Corporate Counsel, Intellectual Property Enforcement job at Sony in San Mateo, CA

Why Sony Interactive Entertainment?

Sony Interactive Entertainment isn’t just the Best Place to Play - it’s also the Best Place to Work. Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) is the company behind the PlayStation brand. As a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation, we’re part of a proud legacy of innovation and excellence. SIE is a dynamic technology company, delivering cutting-edge hardware and network services to more than 100 million people and an entertainment leader, home to some of the most beloved and recognizable intellectual properties (IP) in the world. Our role at SIE is to create and nurture the experiences under the PlayStation brand, a name synonymous with entertainment excellence and creativity.

Corporate Counsel, Intellectual Property Enforcement

San Mateo, CA | Hybrid - 2 days per week in our San Mateo office

Role Summary:

Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Legal, Public Policy & ESG team is looking for an experienced lawyer to join its award-winning IP Enforcement practice. This role combines sophisticated and technically complex copyright and content protection work with online and offline enforcement, addressing evolving issues such as piracy, pre-release leaks, game modifications, circumvention, emulators, and other emerging threats affecting PlayStation games and content. As Corporate Counsel, IP Enforcement, you will serve as the primary legal contact for IP enforcement in the Americas, with a particular focus on supporting PlayStation Studios and SIE’s Game Protection Program, our dedicated initiative to combat piracy, protect pre-release content, and address unauthorized game modification.

What You’ll Be Doing:

Game Protection & Studio Support

• Serve as lead legal counsel for SIE’s Game Protection Program in the Americas, developing strategies to combat piracy, respond to pre-release content leaks, and address unauthorized game modifications affecting PlayStation titles.
• Partner directly with PlayStation Studios and production, security, and release teams to identify content‑protection risks and develop proactive strategies throughout the game development and release lifecycle.
• Provide practical and strategic copyright advice, particularly relating to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), including notice and takedown procedures, counternotices, safe harbors, repeat infringers, fair use, and complex or contested matters.
• Advise on emerging and technically complex copyright issues involving game modifications, user‑created and unauthorized in‑game content, emulators and ports, infringing apps and services, unauthorized distribution, and circumvention of technological protection measures. Help develop practical policies and scalable approaches as these issues evolve across PlayStation Studios and platforms.
• Work with investigators, technical and security teams, data specialists, outside counsel, and other partners to develop evidence and translate legal and technical intelligence into effective enforcement action.

IP Enforcement

• Support the IP enforcement needs of SIE’s hardware and merchandise businesses in the Americas, developing practical strategies to protect PlayStation products and intellectual property.
• Help shape SIE’s broader Americas enforcement strategy, using data and intelligence to identify significant infringers, enforcement gaps, and opportunities for targeted action.
• Support anti‑counterfeiting efforts across online and physical channels, including marketplace enforcement, investigations, cease‑and‑desist activity, Customs and border enforcement, administrative and criminal actions, and escalation to litigation or law enforcement when appropriate.
• Take an active role in online enforcement across e‑commerce marketplaces, social media, websites, apps, and other digital services.

Strategic & Cross‑Functional Partnership

• Partner with colleagues across SIE’s IP Litigation, Brands, and Patent teams on significant enforcement matters, including strategic litigation and design‑related enforcement.
• Monitor developments in copyright, intermediary liability, anti‑counterfeiting, digital enforcement, and relevant technologies, advising the business on their potential impact.
• Develop enforcement policies, playbooks, procedures, and best practices, and provide practical guidance and training to internal stakeholders and external partners.
• Use enforcement data and reporting to identify trends, emerging threats, and opportunities to strengthen SIE’s enforcement programs.
• Represent SIE, where appropriate, in industry organizations and initiatives relating to copyright, content protection, anti‑counterfeiting, and IP enforcement.
• Work collaboratively with SIE’s IP Enforcement paralegals in the US and UK, providing legal guidance and supporting their continued development.

What We’re Looking For:

• A qualified lawyer with approximately 6–12 years of post‑qualified experience in intellectual property enforcement, gained in‑house and/or in private practice.
• Strong knowledge and practical experience of U.S. copyright law and the DMCA, including online enforcement, notice and takedown processes, counternotices, safe harbors, fair use, and intermediary liability.
• Experience developing and executing IP enforcement strategies, ideally involving online enforcement, investigations, anti‑counterfeiting, and escalation to litigation or law enforcement.
• Experience with, or strong interest in, digital piracy and technically complex copyright matters. Experience involving video games, software, apps, game modifications, circumvention of technological protection measures, or similar digital content issues is particularly valuable.
• Strong legal judgment and a pragmatic approach to enforcement, with the ability to prioritize high‑impact matters and balance legal risk, enforcement objectives, and commercial considerations.
• Ability to work effectively with technical, investigative, and business specialists and translate complex information into practical legal strategies.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the independence and flexibility to operate effectively across regions, cultures, and time zones in a global organization.
• Strong technical curiosity and an interest in video games and interactive entertainment, with the ability to understand how games, platforms, and related technologies operate and translate that understanding into practical copyright and enforcement advice.

Additional Experience That Would Be Valuable

• Experience advising on video games, software, digital content, or other technology products, particularly involving game modifications, emulators, piracy, pre‑release content protection, or technological protection measures.
• Experience with game or content protection programs, including pre‑release leak response, game security, DMCA anti‑circumvention, or other technically complex copyright enforcement matters.
• Experience working with online marketplaces, platforms, intermediaries, or specialist enforcement providers on copyright, trademark, or anti‑counterfeiting matters.
• Experience with IP enforcement in China, including online or offline anti‑counterfeiting, investigations, administrative enforcement, or litigation.
• Familiarity with design law and design‑right enforcement, including design patents and/or registered designs.

#LI-SF!

At SIE, we consider several factors when setting each role’s base pay range, including the competitive benchmarking data for the market and geographic location.

Please note that the base pay range may vary in line with our hybrid working policy and individual base pay will be determined based on job‑related factors which may include knowledge, skills, experience, and location.

In addition, this role is eligible for SIE’s top‑tier benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, matching 401(k), paid time off, wellness program and coveted employee discounts for Sony products. This role also may be eligible for a bonus package.

The estimated base pay range for this role is listed below.

$209,800 - $314,600 USD

Please note, Sony Interactive Entertainment conducts background checks at the offer stage for all new employees (which may include criminal background checks for some roles) and will need to process personal information to support these checks.

Please refer to our Candidate Privacy Notice for more information about what personal information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and your data protection rights.

Equal Opportunity Statement:

Sony is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All persons will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender (including gender identity, gender expression and gender reassignment), race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, marital or civil partnership status, disability, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, maternity or parental status, trade union membership or membership in any other legally protected category.

We strive to create an inclusive environment, empower employees and embrace diversity. We encourage everyone to respond.

Sony Interactive Entertainment is a Fair Chance employer and qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records will be considered for employment.