Karen Abraham

Partner, Shearn Delamore & Co (Malaysia)

Karen Abraham is the head of the IP department of Shearn Delamore & Co. Her practice covers all aspects of IP, technology, media & telecommunications, data protection and competition law. She has more than 30 years of experience in litigation, and setting precedents in IP jurisprudence. Abraham works closely with the Malaysian Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (MDTCA).

Her enforcement practice focuses on crafting anti-piracy and anti-counterfeiting programmes for leading companies in the global market, as well as crafting strategies and brand management schemes for global and local IP brands. Abraham is the first woman in Malaysia to hold a position as board member of the International Trademark Association (INTA). She was the assistant secretary general of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI) and was the first Malaysian to sit on the Bureau of AIPPI.

Abraham also sits as council member of ASEAN IP Association (AIPA) and in 2021, she was appointed the Asia Pacific Regional Forum liaison officer, IBA Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Committee. She is an active committee member of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association, AIPPI and Marques.

Ana Paula Affonso Brito

Partner and attorney at law, Montaury (Brazil)

Ana Paula Affonso Brito has extensive expertise in litigation before Brazilian federal and state courts, acting for both domestic and international clients. She has litigated diverse cases involving patents in the pharmaceutical, mechanical and telecom fields, trademarks, copyrights, domain names, designs and unfair competition law and is a member of the 5G Special Commission, Technical Standards and Technological Innovation (CEPTIT) of the Rio de Janerio Bar Association (OAB/RJ). She assists clients across different fields of activity and technologies, such as pharmaceuticals, telecom, house appliances, crop science, cosmetics, fashion, food, mechanical, oil and gas, machinery, and software, among others. Brito is the author of numerous articles in her area of ​​expertise.

Amy Baker Mandragouras

Partner, Foley Hoag (US)

Amy Baker Mandragouras provides strategic advice to life sciences companies in developing and implementing IP strategies and building strong global patent portfolios to protect and facilitate commercialisation of biopharmaceuticals. Among her career accomplishments, Mandragouras obtained issuance of patents for Wyeth and petitioned the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) seeking additional patent term adjustment (PTA) which led to a decision by the Federal Circuit in Wyeth v Kappos (2010). As a result of this decision, many issued patents were positively impacted by providing a longer period of PTA. She continually champions gender diversity in patent law through proactive hiring, training, and mentoring of women. She served on the inaugural Women’s Bar Association’s Women’s Leadership Initiative Task Force, and recently joined the advisory board of Women in the Enterprise of Science and Technology (WEST).

Christa Brown-Sanford

Partner and chair of IP, Baker Botts (US)

Christa Brown-Sanford is the chair of Baker Bott’s IP department and serves on the firm’s executive committee and DEI committee. She provides guidance on patent procurement, patent portfolio development, patent litigation, and patent licensing—particularly involving telecommunications, blockchain, electronics, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, software, personal mobility, and other cutting-edge technologies. An adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law, she teaches patent licensing and enforcement, in addition to patent prosecution courses.

Actively involved in the community, Brown-Sandford serves on the boards of Southern Methodist University, SMU’s Dedman School of Law, the Baylor Scott & White Foundation, and New Friends New Life, an organisation focused on empowering trafficked women and girls.

Monique Cheng Joe

Senior vice president, head of brands and content IP, NBC (US)

Monique Cheng Joe is senior vice president, head of brands and content IP at NBCUniversal in Los Angeles, California. She oversees an experienced IP team that supports the development of brands and the production of content for all company businesses ranging from Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Animation and Focus Features to NBC, NBC News and Telemundo to Universal Parks & Resorts. She was previously the head of trademarks at DreamWorks Animation. She managed IP matters for the studio, including domestic and international title, trademark, copyright and domain name issues. In this role, Cheng Joe worked with business leaders across the company from the chief executive suites of DreamWorks Animation and Oriental DreamWorks to the startup offices of Awesomeness TV.

Before DreamWorks Animation, she spent more than a decade at NBCUniversal Media, rising to vice president, trademark counsel. During her first stint at NBCU, the trademark portfolio more than doubled in size through the integration and acquisition of businesses such as Oxygen, E! Entertainment, and Carnival Film and Television. Before joining NBCUniversal, Cheng Joe was counsel, business and legal affairs at Fox Family Worldwide, and then counsel at The Walt Disney Company.

Carolina del Río

Partner, Dentons (Chile)

Carolina del Río is a partner co-leading the IP, technology, and privacy group in Dentons’ Santiago office. She has more than 25 years of experience in IP in the areas of prosecution, litigation, regulation, e-commerce, technology, media and telecoms, privacy, and data protection, leading the strategies of domestic and foreign clients in Chile, Latin America and the Caribbean. Her practice focuses on advising on compliance, regulatory, and licensing in the software, retail, pharma, food, and entertainment industries.

Triona Desmond

Legal director, senior trademark attorney, Pinsent Masons (UK)

Triona Desmond is a senior chartered trademark attorney at Pinsent Masons. Desmond advises clients across various industries in contentious and non-contentious trademark, design and copyright matters. She is also a member of CITMA Council, is active in the Women in IP and IP Out communities of IP Inclusive, as well as being a Stonewall Education Role Model. She manages and prosecutes global trademark, design and domain name portfolios, conducts clearance searches and advises on the adoption of new brands. Desmond also drafts and negotiates settlements, licences and co-existence agreements. She has worked in-house for clients, providing support for an extended duration, assisting with portfolio management, brand enforcement issues and licensing.

Roxane Elings

Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine (US)

Roxanne Elings has been lead counsel in more than 60 trials, substantive court hearings, and appellate arguments. Elings has been repeatedly at the forefront of creating legal precedent, including first to obtain orders using Rule 65 to address the challenges resulting from online IP theft, first to obtain an ex parte asset restraint order in a trademark counterfeiting matter, and first to obtain an order applying the concept of extraterritorial jurisdiction in cases arising under the Lanham Act. She was the first to obtain orders that addressed the challenges resulting from online IP theft in PRL US v Fujian Trading; Advanced Access Content System Licensing Administrator v Feng Tao; and Twentieth Century Fox v Wang Wei d/b/a DVDSea.com.

Daniela Fasoli

Senior partner, Simões IP (Brazil)

Daniela Fasoli advises global companies on how to protect, defend, enforce and manage their IP rights. Her practice encompasses all aspects of IP law, including patent drafting and prosecution, IP litigation, validity and infringement opinions, client counselling in intellectual asset management and appeals before the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office, especially in the fields of pharma, chemistry, biotechnology, oilfield technologies and nanotechnology. Fasoli is often a speaker on panels around the globe discussing topics including the IP landscape in Latin America. Before joining Simões IP, Fasoli worked for more than 12 years in the area of industrial and IP.

As a corporate director of IP company ClarkeModet, she was responsible for managing all IP legal and technical services departments from ten countries of Latin America and Europe. As a pharmacist, Fasoli also has field experience in the pharma industry. She is part of the Women in IP Network and was responsible for the launch of the Brazilian chapter of the organisation.

Laura Fresco

Partner, Hoyng Rokh Monegier (The Netherlands)

Laura Fresco’s practice covers all areas of IP law, with a particular focus on trademarks, designs, copyright, advertising and media law. She specialises in complex cross-border litigation, but is also an experienced negotiator. She acts in opposition and invalidity proceedings before the European Union Intellectual Property Office and assists with border seizure and anti-counterfeit programmes. Fresco practised IP law and corporate litigation in Curacao, Italy and the Netherlands before joining Hoyng Rokh Monegier in 2011. She regularly lectures at universities and conferences worldwide.

In Simplot v McCain (2022), she represented Simplot in an international dispute about McCain’s infringement on Simplot’s potato design, obtaining an EU-wide injunction and evidentiary seizures.

Marianne Frydenlund

Vice president licensing, Avanci (Norway)

Widely seen as a leader in IP licensing, Frydenlund joined Avanci from Nordic Semiconductor, where she was senior vice president, legal and compliance, with responsibilities including patent licensing activities, and concluding several ground-breaking agreements. Frydenlund was tasked with developing and leading new licensing programmes for the Internet of Things (IoT) beyond the automotive industry at Avanci.

Earlier in her career, Frydenlund worked for Huawei Technologies, Nexans Norway, Equinor and Aker Solutions where she focused on legal issues associated with technology-related commercial transactions. Frydenlund chairs the board of the Norwegian Company Lawyers Association (NCLA) where she has been involved in its mentoring programmes aimed at helping women advance in business and technology-related careers.

Isabella Fu

Associate general counsel and chief patent counsel, Microsoft (US)

Isabella Fu is an associate general counsel and chief patent counsel at Microsoft, where she leads the team of attorneys responsible for patent prosecution, counselling, policy, and strategy. She joined Microsoft in 2003, and previously was responsible for IP litigation for the company, worldwide. Before joining Microsoft, Fu was director of litigation at Intel. She practised at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe before moving in-house.

Sheryl Garko

Partner, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (US)

Sheryl Garko is an experienced trial lawyer who has represented clients ranging from Fortune 50 companies to startups in trademark, copyright, false advertising, and trade secret litigations and at trial. She has worked with leading technology companies and some of the most recognisable brands in the world, including New Balance, Samsung, and Microsoft. She has tried cases to both judges and juries in federal courts across the US and has practised before the USPTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and the US International Trade Commission (ITC). Through her trial work, Garko has developed deep expertise in litigating novel and complex damages issues in IP cases and leveraging survey work.

She also represented Aereo against the major US television networks in defence of its novel, industry-disrupting system for providing internet access to over-the-air broadcast television. That case ultimately went to the US Supreme Court, which addressed copyright law issues of first impression. Garko is the global chair of Orrick’s Women’s Initiative and serves on the firm’s management committee.

Miriam Gundt

Partner, Hogan Lovells (Germany)

Miriam Gundt’s expertise includes the coordination of international patent disputes and the enforcement of IP rights in various European jurisdictions. Her strategic advice comprises questions regarding the new Unified Patent Court (UPC) and the European Patent with unitary effect. She represents and advises clients on all matters of IP and technical industrial property rights, with a focus on patents and utility models. Her experience comprises both patent litigation and contractual IP matters, including licensing agreements and research and development agreements. Gundt is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and was appointed as the firm’s head of DEI in Europe at the beginning of 2018.

Amita Haylock

Partner, Mayer Brown (Singapore/China)

Amita Haylock is a partner in Mayer Brown’s IP and technology, media & telecoms group. She has been involved in a number of high-profile copyright and patent infringement proceedings involving software and electronics. Haylock specialises in competition law and advises technology companies on the licensing of their standard-essential patents in mainland China, with a particular focus on Chinese anti-monopoly provisions and regulations governing technology imports and exports. She champions gender equity initiatives at Mayer Brown in her role as co-chair of its Asia Women’s Network.

She has a particularly notable track record of working with ethnic minority young women. In her role, she spearheaded a first-of-its-kind survey (along with Women in Law Hong Kong) into gender discrimination in the Hong Kong legal industry, entitled the Everyday Behaviour Project.

Lisa Hillman

Partner, Lathrop (US)

Lisa Hillman’s practice encompasses domestic and foreign patent procurement. She provides strategic patent counselling, including patent portfolio management, patent validity opinions, infringement opinions, freedom-to-operate opinions, and due diligence reviews.

Hillman has broad technical experience in the areas of molecular biology, microbiology, fermentation technologies, human gene therapy, human and veterinary diagnostics, personal diagnostics, proteomics, siRNA technologies, antibody technologies, CRISPR technologies, CAR T-cell technologies, liposomes, biosensors, bioinformatics, personalised medicine, tissue scaffolds, agriculture, orthobiologics, medical devices, immunotherapy, pharmaceuticals, and food processing technologies. She represents small and large biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and diagnostic companies, as well as university clients and startups. Since 2019, she has served as vice chair of Women in Bio, Boston.

Yi-Chin Ho

Partner, Hughes Hubbard & Reed (ChinaUS)

Yi-Chin Ho is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Hughes Hubbard & Reed in the litigation practice group and co-chair of the Asia practice development. For more than two decades, Ho’s practice has focused on representing Chinese companies based in the US and abroad in complex high-profile and cross-border cases. She regularly advises CEOs and C-suite executives in high conflict crisis management situations using a keen level of creativity and nimble thinking. She uses multilingual skills and bridges cross-cultural gaps to tackle problems and find solutions for her clients. Due to the global nature of her clients’ businesses, Ho is regularly called upon to remedy multi-jurisdictional conflict situations.

Karla Hughes

Head of Trademark and Design Prosecution, Belfast (UK)

Karla Hughes advises on trademark and design law issues before the EU Intellectual Property Office, the UK Intellectual Property Office and the Court of Justice in Luxembourg. Previously based in Alicante, she has more than a decade of experience advising some of the world’s most valuable brands. Hughes is heavily involved in the INTA, as chair of the Famous and Well-Known Marks Committee and liaison to the Bad Faith Task Force. She has spoken at IP conferences such as the European Communities Trademark Association, INTA and the German Federal Patent Court symposium.

Myrtha Hurtado-Rivas

General counsel, Nestlé (Switzerland)

Myrtha Hurtado Rivas joined Nestlé in October 2021 as general counsel, brand and marketing properties, licensing and anti-counterfeiting to lead these areas across Nestlé globally. Originally from Peru, she has expertise in IP, anti-counterfeiting, consumer safety, domain name law, international business law and change management.

Past experience includes IP roles at the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property, as well as five years at Novartis Pharma, five years at Sandoz and five years at Novartis International. She is also the founder and executive producer of Leaderching, a podcast in Spanish and English which covers topics such as leadership and diversity.

Rivas is involved in various IP associations; she is the chairwoman of the Pharmaceutical Trademark Group (PTMG), chair of the INTA Brand Restrictions—Outreach Sub-Committee and vice-chair/trademarks rapporteur at the International Chamber of Commerce.

Lisa Jakob

Corporate IP and litigation counsel, Merck, Sharp & Donne (US)

Lisa Jakob’s litigation experience includes handling global patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret litigation on behalf of clients in the pharmaceutical, tech, biotech, medical device, consumer products and sports industries. Recent highlights include working with the marketing, communications and branding team to develop a strategy to protect the company’s products from anticipated counterfeit activity and implementing this globally.

At MSD, she has managed all aspects of the divestment of trademark and copyright assets related to the spin-off of the company’s Women’s Health brand and other businesses. She is a co-founder of the Women in IP Network (WIN), a professional network of women IP lawyers to promote, support, teach and learn from each other. She is also a chair of the organisation’s Legal Network Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Maria Joannides (Smith)

Head of trademarks, Baker McKenzie (China)

Maria Joannides (Smith) heads Baker McKenzie’s Hong Kong and regional brand protection and enforcement team, which handles contentious, non-contentious and commercial IP matters, with a focus on trademarks and copyright. Her practice comprises global and regional IP portfolio management and brand protection. She has solid experience advising clients on brand selection, and brand clearance before product launch or market entry, as well as overall protection strategies.

She has successfully assisted clients in numerous administrative proceedings and other contentious and enforcement matters. Her specialty also includes advising on IP audits and acquisitions as well as other commercial IP matters. Joannides is heavily involved in the firm’s diversity initiatives and champions the Hong Kong office’s BakerWomen group.

Lisa Jorgenson

Deputy director general, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Patents and Technology Sector

Lisa Jorgenson serves as the deputy director general, patents and technology sector at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland which administers the Patent Cooperation Treaty. She also manages patent and technology legislative and policy advice, and programmes relating to the law of patents. She is the first woman in this role and is one of three female deputy director generals appointed on January 1, 2021.

Jorgenson has been designated as WIPO’s IP and Gender Champion to work on programmes to increase the number of women engaged in IP as well as science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM). She was previously the executive director of the AIPLA and group vice president, IP and licensing, of STMicroelectronics.

Alicia Kabini

Partner, Adams & Adams (South Africa)

Alicia Kabini is a partner and trademark attorney who recently joined the anti-counterfeiting department at Adams & Adams. She also specialises in trademark litigation, including oppositions, cancellations and their related interlocutory applications in South Africa and in other African countries. She has been involved in a number of high profile trademark litigation matters before various divisions of the High Court and Supreme Court of Appeal in South Africa, as well as High Courts in several other African countries.

Shawna Lemon

Patent and IP attorney, Stanek Lemon (US)

Shawna Lemon is co-managing shareholder of Stanek Lemon, a majority female-owned IP law firm. She serves as outside patent counsel to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device management teams and universities where she engages in the formulation and implementation of global patent strategies. She has co-chaired the National Association of Minority & Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF) Intellectual Property Practice Area Committee, and is a co-founder and chair of xElle Ventures, an angel investment group dedicated to creating women’s wealth equality though the funding of female founders and hands-on-education of women investors.

Karen Lim

Partner, Fross Zelnick (US)

Karen Lim advises clients on the selection, clearance, prosecution, maintenance, and enforcement of trademarks in the US and around the world, leveraging applicable international treaty provisions to her clients’ benefit. She brings this perspective not only to managing global trademark portfolios, but to counselling clients on copyright, unfair competition, and domain name issues, as well as negotiating and drafting iP agreements. Lim’s clients span a wide range of industries, including fashion, cosmetics, jewellery, watches, pharmaceuticals, management consulting, education, entertainment, and hospitality.

Tatiana Machado Alves

Partner, Licks Attorneys (Brazil)

Tatiana Machado is a partner at Licks Attorneys and boasts a career spanning over 13 years in the domain of patent disputes. She has led as the primary counsel in multiple critical cases related to pharmaceutical patents, encompassing both infringement and nullification issues. Holding a doctoral degree in civil procedure and evidence law, Machado excels at crafting innovative strategies for intricate legal challenges.

She is an advocate of DEI practices in the firm, mentoring women paralegals and lawyers throughout their careers at Licks. Machado is the co-founder and executive director of Women in IP in Brazil, an association created with the purpose of strengthening female participation in intellectual property and innovation, connecting women to create more professional and academic opportunities.

Shwetasree Majumder

Managing partner, Fidus Law Chambers (India)

Shwetasree Majumder is an alumnus of the National Law School, Bangalore. Once the youngest equity partner in a large Indian IP firm, she founded Fidus Law Chambers in 2008. Majumder concentrates her practice in litigation, enforcement and counselling in IP, technology, advertising and trade secrets matters across a broad spectrum of industries.

Majumder was the first woman from India to be elected to the board of directors of INTA, for the period 2013 to 2015. Majumder is a panellist under the WIPO Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy. Majumder has been the co-chair of an INTA-CIPAM working group set up by the government of India, which is tasked with developing materials on IP rights for children.

Charlotte May KC

Barrister, 8 New Square (UK)

Charlotte May is a leading silk in IP and media & entertainment. Her background is in biochemistry, and she is also an accredited mediator. She was appointed a deputy high court judge in October 2021. Her notable cases include Cartier International v BT (2018); and Cartier International v British Sky Broadcasting (2014). More recently, she represented Apple in Optis v Apple (2022), a high-profile dispute concerning standard-essential patents. May is chair of Chambers’ equality, diversity and wellbeing committee.

Jennifer Mikulina

Partner, McDermott Will & Emery (US)

Jennifer Mikulina focuses her practice on trademark and copyright counselling, prosecution, licensing and enforcement. She advises companies in a wide variety of industries, including consumer goods, food products, digital currency, health care services, insurance, hospitality/restaurant services and software/online services. She is the former head of McDermott’s global trademark prosecution practice, where she was also chair of the firm’s gender diversity committee. She is a member and past chair of the firm’s Chicago Pro Bono and Community Service Committee, and provides pro bono services to a variety of clients.

Melissa Murray

Partner, Bird & Bird (UAE)

Melissa Murray is head of the IP group for the Middle East offices and a partner in the international commercial group. She has practised in the UAE since 2006 and advises clients on IP, commercial, corporate and general litigation matters relating to their operations in the UAE and the wider Middle East region. This covers matters such as IT, IP, trademark protection, franchising, and commercial licensing of IP, media, healthcare, consumer protection and regulatory issues. She specialises in franchising, distribution and supply agreements, having acted for some of the world’s largest brands when licensing their IP in the Middle East. Her professional memberships include INTA, the American Bar Association and the Franchising Committee of the International Bar Association.

Linda Norrgård

Director, European patent attorney, Papua Nevinpat (Finland)

Linda Norrgård is the team leader for Papula-Nevinpat’s chemistry and process technology team as well as for the Russian/Eurasian patent attorney team in Helsinki. She is also a partner in the company and a member of the management team. Norrgård has spent most of her career in various Finnish patent agencies working as a patent attorney, but also gained experience from the industrial sector as a patent engineer in corporate IP teams. She has prosected a wide range of inventions, with a special focus on polymer technology, pharmaceutical chemistry, metallurgy and minerals processing as well as process and food technology. She specialises in advising startup entrepreneurs on IP protection, and is a frequent speaker at various startup events and training programmes.

Adeola Olumeyan

Assistant general counsel, Channels TV (Nigeria)

Adeola Olumeyan is the assistant general counsel and company secretary. She also heads the legal and compliance department, and provides strategic legal advice on legal and compliance matters. Olumeyan also trains and organises training for staff on legal and compliance matters.

She ensures that Channels TV is kept abreast of all relevant legislations (including draft bills) that may affect the company. Before joining the Channels TV team, she successfully managed the portfolios of, and rendered legal advisory services to, many Fortune 500 companies. She has spoken and written both internationally and locally on trademark practice in Nigeria and has served in various leadership capacities of INTA, where she was the first Nigerian to hold the position of subcommittee chair of the association’s Legislation and Regulation Committee (LRC) for the Middle East, South Asia and Africa regions.

Kathleen O’Malley

Of counsel, Sullivan & Cromwell (US)

Judge Kathleen O’Malley (Ret.) is of counsel in the firm’s IP and technology litigation practice, advising on a broad range of subject matters, including all forms of IP litigation, engaging in alternative dispute resolution, and IP policy work. She was a federal judge for more than 27 years, including most recently serving in the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In 2014, she authored the opinion in the case of Oracle v Google, which raised the question of whether the Java API was eligible for copyright protection.

She now serves as a board member for the Council for Innovation Promotion, a bipartisan coalition dedicated to promoting strong and effective IP rights that drive innovation. The Kathleen M. O’Malley Inn of Court was recently chartered in Cleveland, Ohio, as a tribute to her service.

Allisen Pawlenty

Partner, Coates IP (US)

Allisen Pawlenty has nearly two decades of trademark experience in leading in-house and law firm roles. As a partner in Kilpatrick Townsend’s trademark practice, she built and led sophisticated portfolio management programmes for two industry-leading technology companies. Her teams were among the most diverse in the trademark field, winning national client recognition. Pawlenty also served a long-term secondment to a major Los Angeles-based film and television entertainment company, advising on fast-turn title and production clearance matters and helping bring well-known animated characters to life in mobile games and video apps.

As corporate counsel at Amazon, she led an in-house team responsible for all trademark, copyright and enforcement for the company’s fast-growing original content business, including Amazon Studios. She has served on several INTA committees, including currently on the Famous and Well-Known Marks Committee.

Yuliya Prokhoda

CEO, attorney-at-law, Intels (Ukraine)

Yuliya Prokhoda has practised intellectual property law for more than 20 years, and she has worked extensively to secure rights for the Ukrainian Seed Association. She is head of the National Association of Patent Attorneys (NAPA) in Ukraine, which is rallying international support against the Russian invasion of the country in February 2022. During the INTA Annual Meeting in May 2023, Prokhoda spoke in the session Ukraine’s Perspective on Managing IP Assets, where she highlighted Ukraine’s resilient protection systems and opportunities for IP owners.

Kim Reddick

Director, IP, Uber (US)

As an IP and marketing attorney with extensive experience counselling companies on trademark, copyright and unfair competition laws, as well as marketing, advertising and social media, Kim Reddick has managed and protected some of the world’s most famous brands. She has served as IP and marketing counsel to major tech companies, specialising in marketing and content review, clearance and consulting and negotiates a variety of agreements and releases for marketing campaigns and original content production. She is also well versed in domestic and international IP counselling, licensing and complex transactions, enforcement, platform liability, trademark clearance, prosecution and litigation.

In this capacity, Reddick assists clients with branding strategies, exploitation of IP rights, licensing, social media, domain names, advertising and marketing, copyright, right of publicity, first amendment, infringement, enforcement and anti-counterfeiting/anti piracy, in a variety of industries, including technology, entertainment, digital media, AI, broadcasting, communications and consumer products. She also has experience in content and video production and drafting and negotiating entertainment-related agreements.

Fran Salisbury

Partner, Mewburn Ellis (UK)

Frances (Fran) Salisbury works in all patent cycle stages within the life sciences sector from invention capture, drafting and patent strategy to prosecution and global portfolio management. She is a member of the plant variety rights team, having completed the official WIPO course on plant variety protection under the UPOV convention. Salisbury has extensive experience dealing with plant-related inventions, including obtaining plant variety rights and entry onto the national list and common catalogue.

Her areas of expertise are: cell therapies, such as adoptive cell therapy and CAR-T therapy, personalised and stratified medicine, plant related inventions and plant variety rights. Her clients include universities and technology transfer offices, as well as startups, spin-outs and SMEs. She works closely with many Singapore-based clients and is a regular visitor to the region.

Marianne Schaffner

Partner, Reed Smith (France)

Marianne Schaffner is a partner in Reed Smith’s Paris office, where she heads the IP team in Paris and the patent practice in Europe. Schaffner has experience of coordinating and managing complex national and transnational patent, trade secrets and trademark disputes in the healthcare, chemistry, technology and telecommunications sectors. Her experience includes assisting and representing a US pharmaceutical company on a patent infringement related to a nicotinic substitute, and representing a French luxury brand in one of the largest trademark disputes in France.

Laurie Self

Senior vice president and counsel of government affairs, Qualcomm (US)

Laurie Self is a senior vice president and counsel of government affairs at Qualcomm, where she specialises in IP and technology policy issues, including at the intersection of antitrust, trade, standards, and national security. Based in Washington, DC, Self leads a team that is focused on ensuring that US laws and policies provide the necessary protections to support the company’s R&D-driven business model and technology leadership.

Through government outreach and education, she has helped Qualcomm navigate the policy landscape—regulatory, legislative, political and trade—while positioning the company as a trusted industry advisor. In addition to her public policy work, Self is passionate about diversity issues and is supporting efforts with Congress and the USPTO to tackle the lack of diversity among patent owners.

Before joining Qualcomm in July 2012, Self was a partner at the law firm Covington & Burling, where she chaired the firm’s IP practice group.

Tiffany Shimada

Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig (US)

Tiffany Shimada is a member of the IP & technology and trademark & brand management group in Greenberg Traurig’s Salt Lake City office. She focuses her practice on helping clients with trademark, copyright, advertising, social media, and complex brand protection and management issues. She works with brand owners and managers nationally and globally to protect their IP across a wide array of industries, including medical devices, financial services, food and beverage, agribusiness, search engine optimisation management, outdoor sports and hunting, logistics, direct marketing, online retail marketplaces, entertainment, health care, apparel, cosmetics, renewable energy, and mining operations.

Shimada counsels clients through all aspects of brand selection, protection, and risk management issues, such as claim substantiation, comparative advertising, influencer marketing, and promotions involving sweepstakes and contests.

Gail Su

Senior counsel, Google (US)

Gail Su is an IP attorney and registered patent attorney specialising in complex technology transactions, patent licensing (including standard-essential patent licensing), and IP/patent strategy. Her practice includes advising clients on technology-related legal issues from product development to commercialisation, on patent assertion and patent licensing issues, and on M&A/JV-related issues. She is a co-founder and board member at Advancing Diversity Across Patent Teams (ADAPT), which was founded in December 2021 when a community of friends from different companies came together to brainstorm ways to increase DEI within the IP profession.

Agnieszka Sztoldman

Counsel, Osborne Clarke (Poland)

Agnieszka Sztoldman specialises in IP disputes and is responsible for the development of the firm’s local dispute practice in IP law and life sciences. She has in-depth expertise in the life sciences and healthcare sector, and manages intricate national and international patent, trade secret, and trademark disputes in the retail, telecommunications, chemistry, life sciences and healthcare industries. In addition, she has written articles for WIPR examining the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on brand owners’ IP rights.

Annie Tsoi

Partner, Deacons (China)

Annie Tsoi is co-head of Deacons’ IP department and leads the firm’s China IP practice group. She has more than 25 years’ experience in advising on all aspects of IP work in China and on the unique challenges arising from doing business there. Tsoi has advised many major Hong Kong and international clients on strategic issues in mainland China relating to the protection, enforcement and commercial exploitation of IP rights including managing complex IP portfolios. She represents some of the world’s leading companies in the luxury goods, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, entertainment, fashion and electronics industries. Tsoi has advised extensively on the IP aspects of acquisition and restructuring of businesses including technology transfer, licensing and cooperation issues, technology development and improvement.

She also advises on internet-related regulations and domain name disputes. Tsoi is an active member of many committees and serves as the first deputy secretary general, assistant secretary general and chairman of independent members of AIPPI), and is also on the BIP Asia Steering Committee (2021), HKTDC as well as the IP Committee of the Law Society of Hong Kong.

Darani Vachanavuttivong

Managing partner and managing director, IP, Tilleke & Gibbins (Thailand)

Darani Vachanavuttivong helps clients protect IP rights in jurisdictions including Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. Vachanavuttivong previously led Tilleke & Gibbins’ trademark registration group and is actively engaged in the global IP community. She currently sits as president of the ASEAN Intellectual Property Association (AIPA) and chair of the Asia-Pacific Sub-Committee of INTA’s global advisory council. She has also served terms as president and vice president of the Thailand group of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association; and as president of the Intellectual Property Association of Thailand.

Anne Marie Verschuur

Partner, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek (The Netherlands)

Anne Marie Verschuur has a broad IP practice with a particular focus on technology and patents. She is part of De Brauw’s UPC team and regularly represents clients in technology-driven matters, ranging from patent infringement/invalidity actions (including FRAND), trade secret disputes and other tech/IP-related conflicts, to transactional work. She also assists her clients in design, trademark and copyright matters. Verschuur is an active member of several IP associations, including AIPPI, where she was member of the international board as reporter general. She is a current member of the association's Dutch board, and is a member of the European Patent Lawyers Association (EPLAW); INTA's Famous and Well-Known Marks Committee; and the Dutch Association of Intellectual Property Litigators (VIEPA). She has also co-authored a leading Dutch IP handbook and is a member of the editorial board of a national IP journal.

Lia Young

Assistant general counsel, Caterpillar (UK)

Lia Young has responsibility for trademark activity for the flagship brand regionally, including trademark clearance, prosecution, maintenance and enforcement, anti-counterfeiting initiatives, UDRP and Nominet proceedings, as well as for managing customs liaison in multiple jurisdictions. In addition, she has global responsibility for all trademark aspects of several subsidiary brands headquartered in Europe. Young manages the European, Middle East and Russian trademark portfolios and provides trademark portfolio advice and support to the wider internal legal team. She also has responsibility for managing the regional outside counsel teams.

Lynda Zadra-Symes

Partner, Knobbe Martens, (US)

Lynda Zadra-Symes is a litigation partner at Knobbe Martens, where she has practised for more than 32 years. She is co-chair of the firm’s trademark and copyright litigation practice groups. Zadra-Symes represents clients through all stages of the US litigation, from pre-suits through trial and appeal, in federal courts throughout the country, the ITC and before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Her practice involves all types of IP, including patents, trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights, false advertising, unfair competition, and rights of publicity.

She also advises on issues relating to customs and anti-counterfeiting, international trademarks and copyrights, advertising, social media, competition and passing off. Zadra-Symes works with clients in numerous industries, including food and beverage, fashion and beauty, medical device and healthcare, software and hardware, financial and professional services, sports and entertainment.

Irene Zeng

Founding partner, HongFang Law (China)

Irene Zeng has been practising in the IP field in China for nearly 20 years, after she graduated from the Law School of Renmin University, specialising in IP law. She joined Rouse, a leading international IP firm (Beijing office), after graduation. Later in 2003, Zeng, together with other partners, founded HongFang Law to continue her legal practice in the IP field. Zeng’s practice covers the areas of trademark prosecution, trademark protection, unfair competition, design patent protection, copyright registration and protection, and domain name registration and arbitration.

She has rich experience in infringement disputes and has handled thousands of various types of IP cases including a few for which she has been awarded the ‘Typical Cases’ by various authorities. Zeng is a member of INTA and is fluent in both Chinese and English. Zeng works mostly with multinational corporations in various industries.

Ling Zhao

Head of international trademarks, CCPIT (China)

With 20 years of experience, Ling Zhao heads the International Trademark Department comprising two thirds of the firm’s trademark work. Her track record includes obtaining well-known trademark recognition in China for US, Danish and Japanese companies.

Zhao won a retrial of trademark review of opposition case before the Supreme People’s Court on behalf of a reputed US company in 2014. The case was selected as a typical IP case of Guangdong Intellectual Property Protection Association in 2015.

Zhao joined CCPIT Patent and Trademark Law Office in 2000. She is a senior trademark specialist and practitioner, with vast experience in trademark prosecution, trademark searches and watches, the administrative protection of trademark rights, trademark litigation, legal opinions on trademark infringements, trademark licensing and developing trademark strategies. Zhao has represented many multinational clients in litigation since 2004.