I'm Mariëtte du Plessis

ABOUT ME

I joined Adams & Adams as a partner in 1997. I became a partner at my previous firm, John & Kernick in 1988, where I headed the Trade Mark Litigation section I specialises in all trade mark, copyright and domain name related disputes in sub-Saharan Africa and has a particular interest in IP aspects of the arts, advertising and social media, with a focus on educating young creative talents to protect their IP. I regularly presents talks on IP at local conferences and various advertising and design schools. I represents high profile South African and international clients in their trade mark and copyright matters throughout Africa. I am also a senior adjudicator for .co.za domain name disputes. I served as a director of the Board of the International Trade Marks Association (INTA) from 2006 until 2008. I was the president of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property Law (SAIIPL) in 2007 and a council member of the South African Institute of Intellectual Property (SAIIPL) from 2003 until 2008. I am also a member and past chairlady of the Trade Mark Law, Copyright Law and ADR Committees (SAIIPL). I am currently a member of the Trade Mark Policy Advocacy Enforcement Committee of INTA and a member of the Trade Mark Law Committee of Marques. I obtained a BLC degree from the University of Pretoria in 1984 and a LLB degree in 1986. I was admitted as an attorney of the South African High Court in 1989 and qualified as a trade mark practitioner of SAIIPL in 1991.