Telephone	+27 (0) 12 432 6000
Fax	+27 (0) 12 432 6548
Email	Email me
Office	Pretoria

Position	Partner
Profession	Trade Mark and Patent Attorney
Nationality	British
Post Qualification Experience	37 in South Africa, 4 in the United Kingdom years

Academic	BProc - University of South Africa

Qualifications	Admitted attorney (1980) Patent agent (1976)

Specialisations	Intellectual property (trade marks, copyright and unlawful competition) litigation Agreements, licensing and franchising Advertising disputes

Involvement	South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law (SAIIPL) - fellow and past president Chartered Institute of Patent Agents (CIPA) - associate Licensing Executives Society - member American Bar Association (ABA) - member International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI) - member Pretoria Attorneys' Association - member International Federation of Industrial Property Attorneys (FICPI) - member Examiner for the South African Trade Mark practitioner's examination of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law Law Society of the Northern Provinces - member Law Society of the Cape of Good Hope - away member Natal Law Society - non-practising member

Related articles
European Court makes trade marks ruling on BOUNTY
On 8 July 2009, the European Court of Justice’s Court of First Instance handed down another decision that relates to the registerability of shapes as trade marks. The matter related to an appeal that was brought against a decision of the European Trade Mark Registry’s (OHIM) Board of Appeal to cancel a trade mark that consisted of the shape of Mars Inc's famous BOUNTY chocolate.

The registered trade mark (front portion indicated below) displayed three "chevron" designs on the top and, according to Mars, consisted of uniquely rounded edges. The mark originally proceeded to registration on the basis that the “chevron” designs and the shape of the chocolate had acquired a distinctive character through extensive use in the course of trade.

Adams & Adams is a B-BBEE LEVEL 4 Contributor

View programme

The firm practises directly in several Southern African countries and through long-established associates in others.